Why is QWERTY on our keyboards?

Why is QWERTY on our keyboards?

The QWERTY keyboard we use today originated with typewriters.

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Asked by: Bowen Liu, by email

QWERTY came about because the keys on early typewriters used to stick, especially if frequently used letters were placed close to each other.

American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes had the idea of separating keys like ‘A’ and ‘E’. By distributing the most popular key presses across the keyboard, his QWERTY layout caused typewriters to jam less often.

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