Why are keyboard letters set up in this random order?

Question

Like I never really thought about it but why are the letters on our keyboards set up like this? How come they aren't in order like ABCDEFG etc. Who chose it to be QWERTY etc. Very odd question I know but does anybody know why?

Answer 1

The QWERTY design was patented by Christopher Sholes in 1867 and sold to Remington in 1873, when it first appeared in typewriters.

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.

In reality, typing will be a lot harder if the keys are in alphabetical order. Most often one hand will be doing most of the key typing instead of both hands.

Answer 2

I learned about this in psychology last year. Well, the computer keyboard originates from the typewriter key set up. And the reason QWERTY is on the top line is because when the typewriter salesman would demonstrate the typewriter to a customer he'd type "typewriter" so they put all the letters to spell typewriter on the top line. And that's why! But, the QWERTY keyboard isn't the most efficient and best way to arrange the keys, its kind of awkward and clumsy. So this guy Dvorak invented his own keyboard arrangement which is suppose to be better. But, it's not like everyone was willing to change after getting used to QWERTY.

Answer 3

This is the most common modern-day keyboard layout on English-language computer and typewriter keyboards.
The design was patented in 1867 by Christopher Sholes.

In the first designs for typewriters, the letters were arranged alphabetically and set on the end of a metal bar which struck the paper when that key was pressed.
But once someone had learned to type quickly, the bars connected to letters that were close together on the keyboard got tangled, meaning the typist had to manually unstick the bars (this often smudged the paper as well).
A business associate suggested splitting up letters that were commonly used together to prevent the bars from tangling with each other.

Answer 4

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.
Some sources assert that the QWERTY layout was designed to slow down typing speed to further reduce jamming.

Answer 5

The answer was about typewriters....

They tend to jam when in alphabetical order (where it was the first arrangement) because commonly used word with letters used commonly after each other are just beside each other and jam, so they set the commonly used letters of commonly used words after each other quite at a distance with each other(and it was not set in random).... and also to make you access letters with your fingers at an easier arrangement (if you speed type)....

And arrangement from typewriter were carried to the computer keyboard so that people who were 'experts' in typewriters would not have hard time getting used in using a computer for typing and encoding (which were the main use of a computer before)

Answer 6

Keyboard letters are set up as they are so that the most common letters in the English language are the easiest to type and the less common ones are further to the corners. For a person using proper hand placement on the keyboard (unlike me) this is quite convenient.

Answer 7

They are not in random order. You have to think way back in time when there were typewriters with keys striking the paper. The keys formed like a half circle. It was determined which were the most popular keys being used. If you had two letters that were commonly used next to each other, the keys would jam. As one was hitting the paper and getting ready to return to its place, another key would be going up to strike the paper and would hit (jam) the previous key going back down.

Answer 8

They are set this way to SLOW DOWN typing. In the old typewriters they used typebars, which would swing up and hit the paper. Those bars (or arms) would often stick together, if you typed fast. So they arranged the keys the way where two letters commonly used together were away from each other on the keyboard.
Read this, if you want more details: http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/whyqwert.html

Answer 9

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Answer 10

im not deffinate i guess you would have to ask the person who invented to keyboard. but the way it is set up only makes sence with the correct way to type. your index fingers are on f and j and all the letters you use most frequently used are easy access and letter you dont use so much are a little more out of reach like z