# Disappearing Letters On Your Keyboard **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893 "2009-11-17T06:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/1 "2009-11-17T06:14:47Z")
I bought my computer in June of 2008 and today I noticed on my keyboard the letter “N” is more than half way worn off. All the other keys on the keyboard are still visable. I guess I must type the letter “N” so much that I’ve worn the paint (or sticker or whatever it is) off the key “N.” So look at your keyboard now. Do you have any letters that have disappeared off your keyboard. If so how old is your keyboard? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/2 "2009-11-17T06:19:49Z")
Mine’s about five years now. M, N, and A are completely gone, and S, L, C, and the down arrow just have dotlike fragments left that could belong to any letter. The comma is still intact, but the less-than sign on the same key is gone, and D, Alt/Option, and the left Command key all show significant wear but are still recognizable. Everything else is fine, though some of them are pretty dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/3 "2009-11-17T06:20:11Z")
My keyboard is easily 4+ years old and only the e and s are faded. No letters are completely worn away. The d is half faded. That is to say, the left side of the d is fading away heavily like the s but the right half is practically untouched. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/4 "2009-11-17T06:20:55Z")
One of the reasons I like my fancy WoW keyboard is because so far (after four months) the N is still in good health. The fastest N disappeared from my keyboard in less than one week. That was a very comfy keyboard, but they sure didn’t bother with good ink. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/5 "2009-11-17T07:28:52Z")
A, S, E, and Ctrl. I use Ctrl S to save, a lot. I use Ctrl A to select all, especially in Photoshop, a lot. And I use Windows E to bring up Explorer a lot. They’re also three of the most commonly used letters in the alphabet. My cursor-down arrow key is also worn, it even has a hole in it from my using my bent-over thumb to tap it (I don’t use a mouse, or, therefore, a scrollwheel). My keyboard is about ten years old. It’s a cheapo simple one with no extraneous buttons, which I love so much I wish I could find a second or third, one for my other computer and one as a spare. But this particular model is no longer available. All the simplest keyboards I can find have slightly different arrangements of keys, which is frustrating as they have become second nature for me. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/6 "2009-11-17T07:38:56Z")
Only the cheap keyboards wear off. The better ones have the characters imbedded in the plastic, not just decaled on the surface. I have 5yo keyboards, used heavily daily, with no discernable wear in the letter department. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/7 "2009-11-17T07:46:35Z")
On my 20 month old MacBook, the I and O keys are demonstrably faded, even though none of the other keys are, at all. I only used the bare keyboard for about 2 months, then I bought a silicone cover which stays on at all times. I don’t know what it is about those two vowels, but there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/8 "2009-11-17T07:57:44Z")
I got mine in 2006, and yeah, it was really cheap. I play WoW and a few other games. The letters W, E, A, S, D, C, N, M, and L are completely gone, and A has a hole dug into it. 1, 2, 3, Q, R, F, V, and K (which is down to a tiny speck) are barely recognizable, and a few others are showing wear as well. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/9 "2009-11-17T08:14:31Z")
On my close to 6 years old keyboard (a small and slim black Textorm), not a single letter is faded, but my “e” key sits now lower than the other keys and sometimes I have to hit it a bit harder. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/10 "2009-11-17T12:45:28Z")
I never noticed with mine at work until someone who had apparently come into my office to use my computer for some reason complained about it. A large number of the letters are quite faded. Which is fine with me because I don’t really want people using my computer anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/11 "2009-11-17T13:22:28Z")
My work computer has the A, S and E keys worn away slightly. It’s a Dell, and it’s probably over two or three years old. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/12 "2009-11-17T13:33:08Z")
At work my right shift and left tab have no paint left on them whatsoever, which makes sense, since I use right shift for capitals while typing, and my work apps require that I use the tab key even more. Of course, I’ve had this particular keyboard and computer for about 2-3 years now since my last work computer fried its PSU. At home, my main PC, the wife’s PC and my Macbook Pro all have backlit keys so there’s no paint to wear off thankfully, or I’m sure there would be some worn off by now. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/13 "2009-11-17T13:50:36Z")
All the letters on my keyboard are like new, the only thing I have noticed is a spot on my space bar where my thumb hits it has worn into a noticable divot. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/14 "2009-11-17T14:44:43Z")
My work keyboard is pristine. The one at home, OTOH, is missing the e, r, s and i. We only buy cheap keyboards for home use because the cats keep eating them. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/15 "2009-11-17T14:50:27Z")
My 3-year-old black MacBook has no worn keys. The trackpad’s gotten pretty shiny, though it works just fine. A few of the keys are a bit sticky from spills (!) but I’ve gotten used to how they work now, and I only notice the difference when I use my wife’s newer MacBook. I do wipe everything down with a microfiber cloth and some rubbing alcohol every few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/16 "2009-11-17T15:13:18Z")
The A and S keys on my work keyboard are noticeably worn down. Same with K and L. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I rest my fingers on those keys if I’m not typing but just about to start (or if I’m pausing in the middle of typing anything out)… it’s one of my weird half-assed self-taught touch typing habits. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/17 "2009-11-17T15:38:02Z")
My N, H and A keys are slightly worn off. There’s a shiny worn spot on the space bar, just right of center. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/18 "2009-11-17T15:55:14Z")
My keyboard letters are fine. The place where my left hand rests at the bottom is wearing a little bit. The color on the left mouse button is wore off where the finger rests. It’s about a year old. Keyboards are printed using a pad printer. Most detail on electronics are. It’s a very durable and precise method. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/19 "2009-11-17T16:05:03Z")
See – this goes to show that what your mothers told you was true. **It’s all good fun…until someone loses an "I"** ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893/20 "2009-11-17T16:43:44Z")
My current keyboard is fairly new so about all there is to see is a shiny spot on the space bar where my thumb hits and another on the Alt because I lurve my hotkeys. My previous keyboard had the letters molded into the keycaps. All the way through. But the letters were apparently a harder plastic than the rest of the cap because eventually the letter would be raised above the background. I’m always amazed when I go to work on a medical transcriptionist’s PC and see holes in the keycaps from fingernails. Big holes. Just how many millions of times have they hit those keys? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappearing-letters-on-your-keyboard/517893.md?page=2)