In the 19th Century, when the letters on a typewriter were arranged in alphabetical order, people were able to type so quickly that the mechanical rods would often jam.
So in 1873, the QWERTY layout was introduced to 1) increase the spacing between mechanical rods on the typewriter, and 2) to slow down peoples’ typing speed. The combination of these two factors significantly reduced the risk of a jammed typewriter.
I find it funny that almost 150 years on, we still use QWERTY even though the problem of jammed mechanical rods is long gone.
This is a follow-on thought from yesterday’s post about the end of the 3-point turn, and a reflection on how some methods and technologies will live on, but others will simply fade away.