Introduction

On most English-language keyboards, the three rows of letter keys are not arranged alphabetically or by frequency of use. The two most common letters in English, E and T, aren't even on the so-called home keys where your fingers rest while typing. You've got to reach for them up on the top row, where the letters, from left to right, begin Q-W-E-R-T-Y. John Green: I love a straightforward story of inventors and their inventions.