Here’s Why The ‘F’ & ‘J’ Keys On Computer Keyboards Have Bumps On Them

Written by Jyotsana Rao, BE  • 

You might have probably noticed them before, but those who haven’t, take note! There are two keys on the keyboard of both laptops and PCs that have little bumps or ridges on them. And those ridges can be found on the ‘J’ and ‘F’ buttons.

Ever wondered what’s the purpose for their existence?

Here’s the reason they exist.

These bumps were originally invented in 2002 by June E. Botich for the proper positioning of the fingers while you’re typing.

These ridges, or bumps, or nipples are designed to locate the keys without even looking down, especially if you’re speed-typing. This was basically invented for the professional copy typists so that they could directly look at the copy and type it down at a very high speed without looking at the keyboard multiple times.

For better understanding, you can place your two index fingers over the F and J buttons, i.e., left index finger on the F key and right index finger on the J key. And as soon as you do so, you will notice that your hand on the keyboard is in an optimal position and you can access all the keys with minimal movement.

While positioning your index fingers over the bumps, you’ll notice that the remaining three fingers on your left hand would rest on ‘D’, ‘S’, and ‘A’ keys while the three fingers on your right hand would remain on ‘K’, ‘L’, and ‘;/:’ keys. Your thumbs would automatically rest on the space bar. In short, you can easily identify the keys without even looking down.

Now you understand how these bumps can help you in typing fast and easily? Because of the convenience they provide, the row containing them is termed as ‘home row’.

The same concept applies to Qwerty and Dvorak keyboards.

So, this is the reason for the existence of those small bumps on the F and J keys of the keyboard. Now be ready to get your typing skills in order!

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