Chapter
The Origin of the Shift Key on Keyboards
23:47 - 30:42 (06:55)
The invention of the shift key on keyboards was created as a way to switch between uppercase and lowercase letters. The shift key was initially developed by inventor Christopher Latham Sholes, in partnership with Matthias Schwalbach.
Clips
Two inventors, Christopher Latham Sholes and Carlos Glidden, designed a typewriter in the 1800s with only a few keys, including four or five of each letter, and the prototype could only type one letter, "W", but the precision was enough to secure a patent.
23:47 - 25:31 (01:44)
Summary
Two inventors, Christopher Latham Sholes and Carlos Glidden, designed a typewriter in the 1800s with only a few keys, including four or five of each letter, and the prototype could only type one letter, "W", but the precision was enough to secure a patent.
ChapterThe Origin of the Shift Key on Keyboards
EpisodeTypewriters: Mechanical Brilliance
PodcastStuff You Should Know
Inventors Schwalbach and Scholz teamed up to create an improved typewriter in 1872, which they sold to oil magnate James Dinsmore.
25:31 - 28:06 (02:35)
Summary
Inventors Schwalbach and Scholz teamed up to create an improved typewriter in 1872, which they sold to oil magnate James Dinsmore.
ChapterThe Origin of the Shift Key on Keyboards
EpisodeTypewriters: Mechanical Brilliance
PodcastStuff You Should Know
The shift key on a keyboard has a historical root in early typewriters where it was used to shift the position of the letters between uppercase and lowercase by physically "shift"ing the mechanism.
28:06 - 30:42 (02:36)
Summary
The shift key on a keyboard has a historical root in early typewriters where it was used to shift the position of the letters between uppercase and lowercase by physically "shift"ing the mechanism.