A typewriter is a mechanical writing machine that prints letters onto paper when you press keys. Before computers and printers existed, typewriters were how people created clean, readable documents for business, school, and publishing.

Each key on a typewriter is connected to a metal arm with a raised letter on the end. When you press a key, that arm swings up and strikes an ink ribbon against the paper, leaving the letter's impression. After each letter, the typewriter moves the paper slightly to the left so the next letter appears in the right spot. When you reach the end of a line, you push a lever called the carriage return to move the paper back to the beginning and down one line.

Typewriters required real skill. You couldn't simply delete mistakes like you can on a computer. Typists had to be accurate, fast, and careful. Making an error meant using correction fluid or starting the whole page over. Professional typists could type incredibly fast without looking at their hands, a skill called touch typing that many people still use on computer keyboards today.

The typewriter transformed how people worked with words. Writers could produce manuscripts that publishers could actually read. Businesses could create professional-looking letters and documents. Students could type neat papers instead of writing them by hand. Though computers have replaced typewriters for most purposes, the keyboard layout we still use today (called QWERTY, after the first six letters) comes directly from typewriter design.