Before Computers

Before Computers Have you ever wondered how people typed before computers? More than one hundred years ago, people started using machines that sat on their desks. They were called typewriters. They had keyboards just like computers. But they were very different. There was no screen to look at. You would put a piece of paper in the typewriter. Each letter on the keyboard was connected to a metal arm that reached up and stamped the paper with ink as you typed! lf you made a mistake, you had to start over with a new piece of paper or use a special drop of white paint to cover your mistake. These typewriters had hundreds of moving parts and were very hard to fix.

It took people a long time to type anything with a typewriter. But, some people could type more than 120 words per minute on these old machines—with no mistakes! Today, most people can type about 60 words per minute on a computer. How fast can you type?