India, Aug. 23 -- In today's episode of Everyday Explained, we're looking at something you probably use every day but may never have questioned: your computer keyboard. The first six letters on the top row spell QWERTY, not ABCDEF. So, why are the keys arranged this way? The answer dates back to 19th-century typewriters, long before computers existed. (Also read: Everyday explained: Why are manhole covers always round and not square or rectangular? )

According to Smithsonian Magazine, American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes began developing an early typewriter in the 1860s with Carlos Glidden and Samuel Soule. The earliest versions did not have the QWERTY layout. One of Sholes' initial designs had letters arranged much more like an a...