Origins of blank keycaps and red escs?

[Grond]

I was wandering when blank keycaps and red escs first became popular. I guess they both are kind of recent introductions? Blank keys are said to be aimed at professional typist, but I guess touch typing is as old as typewriters are, while I never happened to see old keyboards without legends. Do they exist? Also, what was the first keyboard with a red esc?
I know I'm quite a curious guy!

[runeazn]

red esc cuz they were easiliy spottable when you need them,
colored wasd = obvious, good finger setting
and the blank keycaps is showing your e-peen and typing skillz, might have started with Filco otaku editions.

[webwit]

Elitekeyboards was cleverly harvesting a trend and was not the origin of blank keyboards.

[webwit]

I think I started noticing blank keyboards when a guy bought and showed off a set from Unicomp for the IBM Model M, but I'm not sure. Wouldn't be surprised if it has its origin in Korea or Japan. I don't think they were a big thing earlier in relation to learning to touch type or something.

[HaaTa]

Blank keycaps were apparently common in typist classes in the 50's and 60's, if my memory serves me correctly.

[ripster]

Invented by a German Penguin Worshipping Cult in Austin Texas called Metadot.

In 2005, in a personal quest to improve his own typing speed and accuracy, Metadot Corporation founder and self-proclaimed “Uber Geek” Daniel Guermeur asked to have a totally blank keyboard created. To his surprise, his typing speed doubled after just a few weeks of use.

Das Blank.


The first red ESC key was the Big Red Switch (BRS).

Press for a Demo.

[sixty]

1991 Cherry Corp.



Sorry, DAS guys.

[strike015]

Blank keycaps were apparently common in typist classes in the 50's and 60's, if my memory serves me correctly.

yea blank key seems to me like people would've used it to learn to touch type back in the days
i reckon the red esc key would be quite recent as it seems like more of an aesthetic than anything

[kbdfr]

There were no computer keyboards in the 50's and 60's
Touch typing courses in the middle of the 70's used common typewriters whose keys wore removable blank caps in different colours according to the fingers to be used.

[Grond]

The first red ESC key was the Big Red Switch (BRS).

Press for a Demo.

[Pylon]

My Smith Corona manual (with semi-broken carriage) has a red "1" key.



Also, it's supposed to be upper left, not upper right like the text says.

[quadibloc]

I've noted elsewhere that the Break key is red on some Teletypes, and the ATTN key on some 2741s. For that reason, I've been inclined to say that the red Esc key is a "mistake", and the PC keyboard should have a red Pause/Break key. But I cannot inspire others to join me in this quest for a new kind of geeky!

[Half-Saint]

Two years ago I ordered several yellow Num Lock keycaps from Unicomp despite the fact that the key can easily be found even by a blind chicken I just thought it would look cool...