The space bar is the largest key on the keyboard. But why is that so and who needs it? We explain it to you.
Each of you has surely noticed: Not all keys on the keyboard are the same size. Certain keys have very unusual shapes, while most letters and numbers have the same shape.
The space bar is the largest key on every keyboard and is usually always in the same position. Typically, it is located directly at the front between the Alt and Alt-Gr keys. MeinMMO explains to you why the space bar is by far the largest and takes up the most space on the keyboard.
The ‘space bar’ has existed in various forms for almost 200 years
Where does the space bar come from? You can find a space bar or a ‘bar’ even in the earliest form of ‘keyboard’. For even in typewriters from the 19th century, there is such a bar so that you did not have to press a key and thus ink onto the page.
The earliest known example, the typewriter by Sholes and Glidden, still used a lever for spaces. The patent dates back to 1843, so it is believed that the space bar must have emerged thereafter (via patft.uspto.gov).
Who invented the space bar? The American James Densmore (1820 – 1889) is one of the inventors of the first practical typewriter, along with Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel W. Soule. The four had a machine shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
[In a conversation] a writer suggested incorporating two space bars, one on each side of the keyboard, and to have them with inward-facing lips to make them easier to hit.
Densmore liked this idea so much that he repeatedly wrote to Milwaukee asking for it to be implemented. Accordingly, Sholes instructed Schwalbach to equip the keys with side extensions, but when Glidden saw them, he said: “Why not connect the two and have a single flat piece that extends the entire length?”
Source: Richard Nelson Current, 1871: The typewriter and the men who made Them (via xahlee.info)
Other devices, however, continually tried different ideas. Devices like the Sinclair ZX Spectrum used a small button for the space bar on the right side. In later devices, these ideas disappeared again, and they reverted to the bar we still find on the keyboard today.
Why is the space bar so big? The space bar is large so that it can be easily reached by both hands while typing. It is also one of the most used keys on the keyboard, which you need all the time and therefore must always be reachable for both hands.
Normally, both hands rest on the keyboard. The two thumbs lie on the space bar. While typing, one of the two thumbs should press the space bar to create a blank space in the text.
Especially users who master the 10-finger system and can type quickly appreciate the large space bar.
Today, the space bar on the keyboard has many new tasks
Meanwhile, the space bar on the keyboard has also taken on many other functions and is not just for creating a blank space:
- With the space bar, you can scroll pages in the browser.
- In many media players like VLC, you can use the space bar to pause.
- In many games, the space bar is often used to jump.
More stories about hardware: If you want to learn more about hardware, then check out the following article: Here we explain to you why the mouse is actually called a mouse on the computer. Unlike the space bar, we don’t have to go back to the 19th century for this, as the mouse is not that old.
