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Typewriters: Mechanical Brilliance

Stuff You Should Know

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The Early Typewriters

Christopher Latham Scholes designed a typewriter in 1866. It had piano keys as the keyboard which makes sense because it has a similar mechanical function. In their prototype all I could type was W but apparently type W really really well enough that they applied for the patent and got it. The ink ribbon jumps up and gets in between the tight bar and the paper to leave the letter.

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