Marcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
To celebrate the Kickstarter for Shift Happens going well, I thought I would show you 50 keyboards from my collection of really strange/esoteric/meaningful keyboards that I gathered over the years. (It might be the world’s strangest keyboard collection!)
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023

This is technically a bit of a spoiler for the book, but a) a lot of them are not in the book, and b) the book comes out in half a year, and we’ll all forget by then!

Let’s start!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwichary/shift-happens

Shift Happens: A book about keyboards

The history of keyboards – from early typewriters to modern mechanical marvels – told in two beautiful volumes.

Kickstarter
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
1.
I have a SafeType, thanks to a friend who noticed one about to be thrown away. This is among the most notable and interesting “ergonomic” keyboards, complete with mirrors that help you orient yourself when you’re starting out.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
2.
The Comfort System keyboard is another “ergonomic“ device that is honestly pretty frightening to look at (explaining the challenge of making keyboards like these). You can reposition and reorient each of the three parts independently.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
3.
I love these DataDesk Little Fingers keyboards with smaller keys because you can see exactly when iMac was introduced and how the company tried to “redesign” the keyboard to fit the new style.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
4.
This is another Mac “alternate universe“ keyboard - an Adesso ergonomic keyboard that feels like “what if Apple Adjustable still existed when iMac came around”?
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
5.
This strange “medical” keyboard is more mechanical than you’d expect! I wrote more about it here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/a-tale-of-three-skeuomorphs. Cleaning required when flashing!
A tale of three skeuomorphs

The 1983 Apple Lisa wastebasket – the first trashcan in GUI history You’ve always been a bit suspicious of the trashcan on your computer’s imaginary desk...

Shift Happens newsletter
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
6.
Once you’re done with your shift (no pun intended) at the hospital, how about some Pizza? This is i-Opener, one of the many shortlived internet appliances, this one with a gimmick that keeps on gimmicking.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
7.
Speaking of spacebar-adjacent gimmicks, I am mildly obsessed with how beautiful is this first NeXT keyboard from 1987, with a bunch of cool subtle things including a Command *bar* underneath the spacebar. As a matter of fact, I just finished writing an essay on it today!
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
8.
This is Olivetti Praxis 48: perhaps one of the most beautiful among the most beautiful typewriters, and strangely similar in palette to the above NeXT keyboard. You could turn on this (electric) typewriter just by pressing any key. That’s pretty wild.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
9.
This Olympia Reporter typewriter is not beautiful, but it has a lot of POWER THIS and POWER THAT keys that celebrate its marriage with electricity? Why is X and some other keys red? Those are the ones that auto repeat!

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
10.
This is another typewriter, so proud of a functioning (erasing!) Backspace that it gives this a treatment I have never seen before or after.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
11.
This Turkish typewriter (another Olympia!) means so much to me – the small success of this article from 2015 was probably what was needed for me to start thinking about the book: https://mwichary.medium.com/what-i-learned-about-languages-just-by-looking-at-a-turkish-typewriter-fc840aab1b0a
What I learned about languages just by looking at a Turkish typewriter

I love typewriters. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. Every conference room here at Medium is named after a typewriter company. At some point, I requested we make sure to have one with Turkish…

Medium
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
12.
This keypad… is so bad.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
13.
This was meant to be mounted atop Commodore 64 (which I don’t have), an interesting reversal from the early typewriters being nothing more than repurposed music keyboards.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
14.
These two are taking this idea even further – mount these overlays on regular keyboards to turn them into new kinds of interfaces.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
15.
There’s also professional gaming. It was cheaper for me to buy QSENN keyboards and replicate what professional StarCraft gamers were doing in the 1990s, than to find a good existing photo of one of these keyboards.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
16.
And speaking of gaming – we’re all used to the thumb style of typing from the first photo that it was fun to discover the short moment where the gaming keyboards looked like the one in the second photo.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
17.
And a bit earlier, some game consoles tried to reinvent themselves as home computers with keyboard accessories. This is among the strangest of them: a “keyboard” to add BASIC to the Atari 2600.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
18.
I commissioned this “joystick” from @benjedwards and I am so happy with how it turned out. It’s technically a joystick without a stick, but software turned it into a one-key keyboard. It’s F11, currently mapped to muting/unmuting in Zoom. It’s *incredibly* rewarding to press.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
19.
Speaking of strange keyboards, this is my “space cadet” keyboard – a mini keyboard that outputs only spaces, and instead of legends, each key *feels* different. Wrote about it more here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/stop-me-if-youve-seen-this-one-before/
Stop me if you’ve seen this one before

That the tech industry is not particularly funny becomes cruelly obvious every April Fools’ Day, when perusing books like these — or, in my world, the day...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
20.
And here is a keyboard I built and hid in my shoes, made for one very specific reason. Are you interested what it is? Check out the whole story here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/to-walk-among-keyboard-magicians/
To walk among keyboard magicians

I recently gave a talk at a Berlin conference Beyond Tellerrand about keyboards used for fun and for art. I tried to breeze past the obvious stops (ASCII...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
21.
This is one of the most rare keyboards I have – the strange abKey Evolution imported through a friend from Singapore – a keyboard that tried to reinvent perhaps one thing too many. Wrote more about it here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/the-worst-keyboard-ever-made-3/
The worst keyboard ever made

I’m writing this newsletter under duress. The last issue, one I sent just a week ago, arrived in spam folders for most people owing to a glitch in Revue –...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
22.

And this one from Commodore is not really that unique, except it has this fun property – it reverses the usual beige colour scheme making the keys inside darker. It’s kinda neat!
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
23.
This is a really cheap Bulgarian keyboard with such a poor build quality it cannot be unseen! I wrote more about it here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/the-worst-keyboard-ever-made-3/
The worst keyboard ever made

I’m writing this newsletter under duress. The last issue, one I sent just a week ago, arrived in spam folders for most people owing to a glitch in Revue –...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
24.
Oh, it gets worse. This calculator keyboard is so cheap it’s not a keyboard at all – just an exposed PCB with a pen to complete the circuit. More about it here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/the-worst-keyboard-ever-made-2/
The worst keyboard ever made

During my research I encountered many keyboards that felt awful, looked bad, or were conceptually bankrupt. But it was only a few months ago that I found the...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
25.
And this is the opposite, an incredibly well-built IBM Model F banking typewriter with an enclosure made out of zinc. Hefty enough to stop a bank robbery? Perhaps. More here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/to-save-a-keyboard-pt-2/
To save a keyboard, pt. 2

What am I typing this on This is that rare story where a Twitter disagreement led to something amazing. In May last year, someone tweeted a photo of a rare,...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
Halfway through! I need a bit of a break. Is this interesting? Should I keep going!?
Show threadMarcin Wichary
26.
If your bank robbery goes poorly, you probably end up typing on this Swintec, transparent so that no contraband could be hidden inside. More about transparent tech for prisons in this Techmoan video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3PfsndsihY
Prison Tech

YouTube
Feb 12, 2023 at 10:16pmWeb
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
27.
This simple braille keyboard – Tellatouch – was gorgeous and important. Type a key on one side, and the right braille letter assembles itself on the other.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
28.
This is a more modern version of an adjacent idea. Connect this device to a phone line, and you can speak even if you cannot talk. (Also, I just love any time a keyboard lands itself next to a segmented display.)
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
29.
The creators of this Seiko keyboard recognized a watch with a keyboard wouldn’t make sense – so you could dock your watch and type this way. (I don’t have the watch itself. Too expensive!)
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
30.
Just kidding! Here’s a keyboard on another Seiko watch. It’s an index keyboard – you don’t touch the keys directly, just move the cursor left and right like on Apple TV – since the keys are smaller than 1mm.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
31.
This TI calculator for school use has tiny keys… in between other keys. What a strange thing.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
32.
This calculator went… a different way.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
33.
I love hybrid things and in-betweeners. This tiny Panasonic Toughbook asks a question: what if a BlackBerry keyboard, but twice the width?
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
34.
This one, for TermiFlex, is a one-hand operation, inspired by phone keypads. There are three shifts under your long fingers!
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
35.
Speaking of complex shortcuts, look at this Apple keyboard with Avid software keycaps. The icon on Z is my favourite. I don’t even wanna know what this function does.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
36.
One among many foldable keyboards – this one for Palm devices (RIP).
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
37.
This Sony remote had a built-in keyboard for typing in MiniDisc titles.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
38.
And *this* Sony keyboard had two numeric keypads going in two different directions! One for typical calculator use, and one inspired by mobile phones to allow to chat as easily for people who got used to chatting that way.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
39.
Very happy (and also maybe also a little concerned) to report I am in possession of the entire ProHance lineup of the strange pointing device/keyboard hybrids!
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
40.
But it’s amazing how rarely the graphical user interfaces and keyboards intersect. This here – an old AT&T terminal keyboard – is an exception, providing dedicated keys for window management.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
41.
I had to get this keyboard for a now-obscure Harris word processor, just because LOOK AT THE SHAPE OF THIS ENTER KEY.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
42.
I have seen so many keyboards, but only this one – from a strange titling device meant to be connected to your TV – treats uppercase and lowercase exactly like all the other shifted and unshifted symbols. (With the exception of keyboards for kids, I assume!)
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
43.
Back in the day, keyboards were so expensive that you often started on a “training” keyboard that came without the machine connected to it. Here’s a training keyboard for a Linotype, which is itself a fascinating machine.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
44.
Here’s another one for the first popular line of desk calculators that predates a 10-key keypad.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
45.
(I also have the actual calculator, called a Comptometer. It’s beautiful, really fun to use, and honestly a work of art. A truly impressive machine from the bygone era. I bought it because I was so impressed reading what it can do.)
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
46.
Here’s another practice keyboard, with a record to play to teach you how to type!
Show threadnleanba Feb 13, 2023
@mwichary How does one type the numbers >5 on this one, and where is the 9 hidden?
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 13, 2023
@nleanba It’s all about addition, so when you want to add 7, you just add 5 and then 2.
Show threadJyrgen NFeb 14, 2023
@mwichary IMO it does make some sense to have the elevated part of the key small — less risk of hitting it by accident. Looks much like the original IBM PC keyboard, but the idea didn't stick.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 14, 2023
@jyrgenn I believe it was mostly the cheapness of production – you don’t have to figure out how to stabilize a larger key this way.
Show threadJyrgen NFeb 14, 2023
@mwichary You are most likely right. I would have liked it to be the other reason, though.
There may still be a chance this was the case with the Olivetti typewriter; those weren't cheap models IIRC.
Show threadMark GardnerFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary Not that rare: #Apple #Mac keyboards have a dedicated key to show all windows in #macOS Mission Control
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
@mjgardner Half dedicated. 😂
Show threadMark GardnerFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary You don’t get “F3” unless you hold down the fn key too
Show threadDoubtful GuestFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary oh yeah! Giving your minidiscs titles seemed pretty amazing at the time.
Show threadCanageekFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary I owned one similar to that! Older, and lighter grey
Show threadreallyJimFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary i had one of these, I miss the simplicity of the device that utilized it--a Visor Prism in my case.
Show threadDavid LaFontaineFeb 13, 2023

@mwichary It was tragic that right about the time that Palm finally really figured out its smartphone OS and form factor, the company imploded because of the iPhone

The little butterfly keyboards always made sense to me - wish that there were a full-size one with the split keyboard layout because: Big Hands

Show threadLuke KaniesFeb 13, 2023

@mwichary I had one like this for my Edge device, and it was surprisingly great.

Surprising, in that there was never an equivalent thing for iPhones.

I really feel like this should not have been an evolutionary dead end, but it very much was.

Show threadJosh Puetz 🏳️‍🌈Feb 13, 2023
@mwichary I had one of these and loved it dearly! Unfolding it was always such a neat trick!
Show threadMrBenjaminFeb 14, 2023
@mwichary I just finished the @techpod episode this morning, walking the dog in the rain. I owned this and other palm pilot keyboards, truly some amazing engineering for the time.
Show threadAlexander Svensson (wortfeld)Feb 12, 2023
@mwichary It seems to be a Lift command with an icon so beloved people protested when it briefly went away. 🏋️‍♂️https://twitter.com/avid/status/1144321001305583619
Avid on Twitter

“Media Composer 2019 is out now 🏋️ Welcome back Lift Man! ⠀ ▶️ https://t.co/DUIkixkcuu ⠀ #editingsoftware #videoediting #postproduction #avid #mediacomposer #liftman”

Twitter
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
@wortfeld That’s actually pretty amazing.
Show threadAlex LimiFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary Apologies for clearing up this mystery for you; I consulted my film editor brother and he says “it lifts out a clip”
Show threadHedgiePTFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary Ah yes, the shortcut for lifting I was looking for. Right under my fingertips!
Show threadJosh LandauFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary Alt-Z is the Lift function shortcut. (Similar to cut, but for Avid, cut closes up gaps and lift does not.)
Show threadDave KleinFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary reminds me of the Samsung Q1
Show threadMark Connolly moved to @[email protected]Feb 12, 2023
@mwichary Ding! Ding! Boing! Tilt!
Show threadWild CardFeb 14, 2023
@mwichary I used to be a pinball fanatic. I never saw this calculator before and now I want one!!
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 14, 2023
@WildCard I got it only because I was a pinball fanatic, too. 😃
Show threadjimpjorpsFeb 12, 2023

@mwichary this was TI's way of attempting to provide dedicated letter keys for programming while also evading American standardized tests' rules about what is considered an allowable "calculator" and what is an illegal "computer"

their later revision of this model has a rearranged keypad with the letter keys all together at the bottom, but notice that they're not in QWERTY order, one of the preconditions for being considered a "computer"

Show threadAdam McCombsFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary TI couldn’t use QWERTY for calculators the wanted approved for use on standardized test.
Show threadBrian FitzpatrickFeb 12, 2023

@mwichary wow! I just saw a video where Penn Jillette was wearing this exact watch!

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxXw6obbMlEwgglS-DHq5chgFoogGZuTO7

✂️ seiko

55 seconds · Clipped by Brian Fitzpatrick · Original video "The Unpleasant World of Penn and Teller E01" by VHS Video vault

YouTube
Show threadCarl MalamudFeb 12, 2023
@therealfitz @mwichary You can't go wrong following Penn Jillette for sartorial/tech advice. The man knows his stuff.
Show threadGlenn FleishmanFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary I love the Apple Watch 8 (my first since owning a 1 for six months), but at some level I would like something like the Seiko that is low res but more up to date.