Why are all the letters on the keyboard not in albhabetically order?

Answer 1

Back in the early 1900's when typewriters became popular they were placed in locations that would distribute their usage more generally to prevent typewriter hammers from getting jammed (the hammers would jam if they were too close to each other). When computer keyboards were developed, in order to prevent people from learning to type all over again they just retained the layout.

Answer 2

I did some reasearch on Wikipedia for you and found this article about the keyboard:


The QWERTY keyboard layout was devised and created in the 1860s by the creator of the first modern typewriter, Christopher Sholes, a newspaper editor who lived in Milwaukee. Originally, the characters on the typewriters he invented were arranged alphabetically, set on the end of a metal bar which struck the paper when its key was pressed. However, once an operator had learned to type at speed, the bars attached to letters that lay close together on the keyboard became entangled with one another, forcing the typist to manually unstick the typebars, and also frequently blotting the document. [1] A business associate of Sholes, James Densmore, suggested splitting up keys for letters commonly used together to speed up typing by preventing common pairs of typebars from striking the platen at the same time and sticking together.

The effect this rearrangement of letters had on maximum typing speed is a disputed issue. Some sources assert that the QWERTY layout was designed to slow down typing speed to further reduce jamming.[2] [3] Other sources assert the rearrangement worked by separating common sequences of letters in English.[citation needed] Ostensibly, the hammers that were likely to be used in quick succession were less likely to interfere with each other.[3]

It has also been suggested the top row was designed to have all the letters for the word "typewriter" so that typewriter salesmen could "peck" the word "typewriter" more quickly and easily without appearing to have to "hunt" for the keys.[4] This was in the period when typing was considered women's work and men rarely could type.[citation needed] However, the first typewriter operators were typically male clerks at railroad offices.

The home row (ASDFGHJKL) of the QWERTY layout is thought to be a remnant of the old alphabetical layout that QWERTY replaced. QWERTY also attempted to alternate keys between hands, allowing one hand to move into position while the other hand strikes a key. This sped up both the original double-handed hunt-and-peck technique and the later touch typing technique; however, single-handed words such as stewardesses, lollipop and monopoly show flaws in the alternation.

An unfortunate consequence of the layout, for right-handed typists, is that many more words can be spelled using only the left hand. In fact, thousands of English words can be spelled using only the left hand, while only a couple of hundred words can be typed using only the right hand. This is helpful for left-handed people. [1]

Answer 3

Originally they were but the computers at the time couldn't handle the speed with which people typed so they jumbled them all up so people wouldn't type as fast in a bid to let the computers have a chance.

I think i read somewhere it's something to do with the most letters used in the English language (although i can't see how that works)

Answer 4

The fellow who set them up had in mind the strength and flexibility of certain fingers and their tendency to move together versus the letters' frequency of use in the English language.

Answer 5

They are supposed to be in an order which makes it easier to type. The letters you use most are close to the "home keys" - asdf jkl; - That's if you touch type and not use 2 fingers!

Answer 6

It is designed so that the most used letters could be easily accessed with least effort.

Answer 7

its a standard qwerty keyboard as in typewriters

Answer 8

Too difficult to learn to type with.