What is QWERTY?

Ah, typing. There’s no way really, to keep track of the number of characters we type, day in and day out. Whether for assignments in school or college, emails, decks and spreadsheets at work, or just random banter with our friends and family on WhatsApp.

However, most of the world does do it on similar keyboards. Namely, the QWERTY keyboard.  Now, what exactly does the term mean, though? And how did it come into being? Intrigued? Read on. 

When and how was QWERTY developed?

QWERTY is a universal keyboard format of sorts, with a few exceptions wherein countries use the “QWERTZ ” keyboard.  The term “QWERTY” refers to the arrangement of keys on a keyboard. If you take a look at the top row of letters in your keyboard, you will observe that the primary six letters are Q, W, E, R, T, and Y. This series gave rise to the “QWERTY keyboard.” Now you may ask, why this specific association? Well, It all goes back to the earliest typewriters, which had mechanical hands with typebars for every letter. When two adjacent typebars were pressed in short succession though, they frequently jammed together.

ALSO READ: How to connect a wireless keyboard to your laptop

To help prevent just this, Christopher Latham Sholes, an American newspaper editor and printer, designed the QWERTY format to slow down typing speed, as it reduced the probability of jams. And with it, he along with Samuel Soule and Carlos Glidden, also invented the first commercially successful typewriter. 

The impact of QWERTY keypads

The QWERTY  keyboard quickly became a norm the world over. This is because for the first time, typing was exponentially quicker and more efficient, by addressing the single biggest issue with early typewriters. Over time, people became so used to this layout that it stuck even as computers began to roll into the markets, and eventually, newer smartphones and tablets as well.

ALSO READ: Types of computer keyboards: A complete guide

QWERTY then, isn’t just a random association of letters on your keyboard on your smartphones, laptops, desktops or tablets. It has a captivating history rooted in the mechanical challenges with the earliest typewriters in existence. While other layouts do exist, the QWERTY keyboard has stood the test of time and turned out to be a commonplace trend in the world of typing, shaping how we interact with our gadgets on a day-by-day basis.