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Typing Summit
Medium · 64 words

The History of the Keyboard

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The keyboard layout most of us use was designed for typewriters in the 1870s. Its arrangement of letters helped reduce jams when typists worked quickly on mechanical keys. When computers arrived, the same layout stayed, because millions of people had already learned it. Today other layouts exist, but the familiar rows of letters remain the standard on laptops, tablets and phones around the world.

About this passage

Informative paragraphs on everyday topics, with capitals, commas and full stops. This one is rated medium and has 64 words. At an average speed of 40 wpm it takes about 2 minutes to type.

Full text

The keyboard layout most of us use was designed for typewriters in the 1870s. Its arrangement of letters helped reduce jams when typists worked quickly on mechanical keys. When computers arrived, the same layout stayed, because millions of people had already learned it. Today other layouts exist, but the familiar rows of letters remain the standard on laptops, tablets and phones around the world.