Why Do Keyboards Use QWERTY Instead of ABC? Answer Lies in Typewriters

Take a look at your keyboard for a second. Notice how the letters jump around like a secret code — Q, W, E, R, T, Y. It is not alphabetical, not symmetrical, and definitely not simple. Yet every one of us types on it every single day without a second thought. From sending texts to writing reports, our fingers dance across this strange layout as if it has always been there.

But it was not always this way. The QWERTY keyboard was never designed for comfort or logic. In fact, it was created to slow people down. Yes, really. Back in the late 1800s, when typewriters were clunky and mechanical, typing too fast would make the keys jam together. To fix this, an inventor rearranged the letters in a way that made typing just slow enough to stop the machine from breaking.
What started as a clever trick to control metal arms has now become the rhythm of our digital lives. Here’s the surprising story of how the QWERTY keyboard came to be — and why we still use it even in a world where typewriters no longer exist. When the first typewriters were created in the 1860s, their keys were arranged in alphabetical order. It seemed like the most logical design. But as people started typing faster, a major problem appeared. The metal arms of the letters that struck the paper often got tangled when two nearby keys were pressed quickly. Words like "the" or "was" made the machine jam constantly, making it slow and frustrating to use.
To fix this problem, inventor Christopher Latham Sholes rearranged the letters in a way that separated the ones most often used together. This new design reduced jams by forcing typists to slow down slightly and distribute their key presses more evenly across the keyboard. He patented this layout in 1878. What we now call the QWERTY keyboard was not meant to make typing easier but to make typewriters survive longer. Sholes worked closely with telegraph operators who used Morse code. They noticed that some letters were often used together when decoding messages. Their feedback helped him decide which letters should be near each other. So, some parts of the QWERTY layout were actually designed based on the rhythm of Morse code, not the English alphabet.
In 1873, Sholes sold his typewriter design to the Remington Company, which began mass-producing it. Remington’s typewriters became a global success. Since they used the QWERTY layout, thousands of new typists learned it as the standard. Once people invested time in mastering it, changing to another layout became nearly impossible. Habit made QWERTY permanent.
Over time, several inventors tried to design better layouts. One of the most famous was the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard, introduced in the 1930s to make typing faster and more comfortable. Although studies showed that it could improve speed and reduce strain, very few people adopted it. Offices, schools, and manufacturers had already built their systems around QWERTY. The world chose familiarity over efficiency.
When computers replaced typewriters, their inventors kept the QWERTY layout so that people would not have to relearn typing. By that time, QWERTY had already become a universal standard. Even though computers did not have keys that could jam, the layout remained unchanged simply because everyone was used to it.
If you have ever tried typing on a new keyboard layout, you might have realized how automatic typing really is. Your fingers know exactly where to go without thinking. Decades of practice and muscle memory have made QWERTY feel natural. It is no longer just a pattern of letters but an instinct built into the way we communicate.
Modern research shows that QWERTY is not the most efficient layout for speed or comfort. Alternatives like Colemak and Dvorak can reduce finger movement and fatigue. However, switching would require millions of people to unlearn habits, retrain, and change entire systems. The cost of change outweighs the benefit of improvement, so the world continues to type the same way it did more than a century ago.