Are you aware that for a long time many typewriters didn't even have a one key? You were supposed to type a lowercase ell for one. And if you really needed an exclamation point, you overstruck a period with a single-quote.
Obviously that could never had worked on a computer keyboard, and I think the trend to supply an actual one key was in motion before keyboard-enabled computers became common. My point is that the folks who invented and (initially) used typewriters were not thinking mathematically. They were 100% concerned with getting ink on paper quickly and legibly.
Obviously that could never had worked on a computer keyboard, and I think the trend to supply an actual one key was in motion before keyboard-enabled computers became common. My point is that the folks who invented and (initially) used typewriters were not thinking mathematically. They were 100% concerned with getting ink on paper quickly and legibly.