I know that the English keyboard has been set out in order to make it easy to type words with two hands without having to cross over too much (words such as ever, as and dares - all requiring left hand only and so slow down the typing) but do you think that the top line QWERTYUIOP conciously contained all of the letters for typewriter? It does make it harder to type out typewriter as it is all on one line but was it intentional? Or is it just coincidence in your well respected opinions?


musings whilst writing an essay

I know that as of a few years ago (heaven only knows
what new is added daily) "typewriter" was the
longest word on one row, as you mention. Left hand
does 56% of the typing. The word "stewardesses" is the
longest word totally on left hand, and "lollipop" is
supposedly the longest on the right hand.
But things change, so who know for sure today.

I'm not sure this is actually true. My understanding is that the layout of the keyboard was designed to INCREASE the amount of crossing over required. On old fashioned typewriters, the main problem was the keys hitting each other and sticking. This was much more likely to happen if nearby keyes were pressed. Hence, the QUERTY system was (informally) meant to increase the alternation of hands, or rather, reduce the likelyhood of nearby keys being pressed in succession.

That is pretty much what I heard too. I still have a
vintage pre WWII typewriter wherein the keys stick.

Sorry! I think, reading back on it, that I meant the letters were spread out s to enable two hands to type them without having the issue of the hands crossing over and around each other in order to press the keys next to each other (eg vowels)like you did before the QWERTY was introduced.

p.s. the invention of the white correction tape for use with typewriters must have made life slightly less worrysome!

I have started a conversation in Facebook with a friend who collects old typewriters. Certainly the question of hand/finger confusion is argued against by the fact that with the QWERTY keyboard, the E and R keys are right next to each other and the E and D keys are too. Those combinations have to be up towards the top of letter pairs in frequency in the English language. I also question whether the device was called a typewriter when the QWERTY layout was devised.

----to say nothing of the later invention of
"white out" liquid.