Why Aren't Computer Keyboards in Alphabetical Order?

When I was introduced to a computer, my first question was, “Why are the keys on the keyboard in funny places?” The letter “p” was in the top right, whereas the letter “q” was in the top left. Whose bright idea was it?

To understand why our “QWERTY” keyboard became what it is, we need to take a small history lesson.

The keyboard first appeared in 1874 in the mechanical typewriter Remington No. 1. At that time, typewriters operated using a mechanism with each character on the end of a metal bar . When a key was struck, the bar would raise up and hit a tape coated with ink. When the character struck the tape, the character was imprinted onto the paper which was behind the tape.

As people began to type faster, the bar would often jam. To prevent this, the most common letters were positioned in hard to reach spots. We have since moved away from the era of mechanical typewriters and the QWERTY layout can be safely discarded, but old habits die hard. Everybody knows QWERTY and not many people want qwto change.  Long live the QWERTY keyboard!