What Are Those Ridges / Bumps on the Keyboard?

Ever noticed those little lateral bumps on the 'F' and 'J' keys on your keyboard. If you investigate even further, you'll also notice the bump on the '5' key, on the number key panel adjacent your keyboard pad. These button alterations do serve an important purpose.

Yahoo headlined a story today regarding this topic. It seemed that their most popular query of the day was regarding the function of those character bumps.

I personally have experience in this area, as I've worked for an auditing company for many years. My job description consisted of a boring 8-10 hours of counting merchandise of various vendors and retailers. Those numbers were later used for analyzing inventory. We used tools such as 10-key number pads that were heavy with a very bulky and awkward shape. To be most efficient, one had to master the art of striking numbers and arithmetic functions without looking at the panel. Instead, one's eyes would be focused on the merchandise being counted. Transferring what is seen into numbers that are tallied into the machine via the fingers.

A very important piece to mastering this crafty technique is the little bump or ridge atop the '5' key, which is in the center of the panel. This gives the user a sense of being on the panel without ever looking at it. It is the "rendezvous" point for your finger. This has proven to be a very effective training technique for many auditing firms, for it helps the person move about the board freely, with a great sense of direction.

My personal reliance on using this method led me to move up in rank quickly, keying in 2500-10,000 items per hour. As standard requirements only called for 800 pieces per hour.

On the keyboard, the same rules apply, instead, just with the 'F' and 'J' keys. Those who type without looking at the keyboard, use these keys for reference. I definitely can not to this. This is where I leave it to the pros.