Things That Changed the Course of History: The Story of the Invention of the Typewriter 150 Years Later

Book excerpt: Maybe you've never used a typewriter yourself, but you've probably seen a movie set sometime in the 20th century that features a room full of them. Perhaps you've heard the distinctive clickety-clack of the machine, the loud ping when the typists get to the end of the line, and the gentle swoosh as the typists start all over again. For those of us who grew up with computers, typewriters have an undeniable fascination, but let's stop trying to think of the typewriter as something that is vintage. Let's start considering it as the amazing technological development that it was and is. To this day, keyboards follow the QWERTY format because Christopher Latham Sholes -- the inventor of the typewriter -- designed his keyboards this way. Women were able to enter the workforce with decent-paying jobs because being a typist was deemed an acceptable position for women. The industrialization of the economy was helped along by this more sophisticated device. Not only is the typewriter the direct predecessor of the computer, which has completely changed the way we communicate, but it's also a charming machine in its own right, with its clickety-clack, ping, and swoosh. Experience the story of the invention of the typewriter with help from our featured guests: Linda Deutsch, famed former Associated Press reporter; Dorothy Portnoy, long-time typing teacher in Manhattan, and Steven Hausman, technology consultant and former Deputy Director for the National Institute of Health.-- (10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM)