Wikipedia links a short paper discussing this: https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/139379/1/42_161.pdf https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u

Wikipedia links a short paper discussing this: https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/139379/1/42_161.pdf https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433... TL;DR: it's more likely it was just the result of a series of progressive compromises, as keyboards moved from telegraph to typewriting.