'I made the world's worst keyboard': This YouTuber's homemade board has over 1,000 keys and types in words, not letters

A keyboard with ten hundred keys - YouTube A keyboard with ten hundred keys - YouTube
Watch On

If you've been looking for a new keyboard layout to try, one YouTuber has invented a keyboard that can only type the 1,000 most common words and, needless to say, this won't be replacing your old QWERTY board.

YouTuber Attoparsec (via Hackaday) has put out a new video showing off the "ten hundred computer letter getter" (1,000-word keyboard). After six months of work and 1,020 keys, the ten hundred computer letter getter has the 1,000 most common words for communication, with a few extra keys on the side for creating longer versions of words like "ing", "ed", and "est", and for utility keys like "Escape" and "Enter".

This idea comes from an xkcd webcomic titled "Up Goer Five" where writer Randall Munroe explained how a rocket works with only the 1,000 most common words. This then branched out into Thing Explainer, a book where Munroe explains microwaves, helicopters, and more with those same parameters.

The keyboard itself is made up of five panels, all of which are intended to fit on Attoparsec's desk. The 1,000 words are then ordered alphabetically and split across the five boards, for space on the bottom of the rightmost panel for utility keys like "Enter", "Escape", "er", "ing" etc.

To avoid having uniquely spaced PCB for each individual word, Attoparsec opted to make each key around one inch wide and hyphenate some of the longer words. In a previous video, Attoparsec 3D Printed and customized keycaps for another keyboard but that took a month of work for 86 keys.

a picture of Attoparsec's 'ten hundred letter getter', a keyboard with 1,000 words on it.

(Image credit: Attoparsec (via YouTube))

Attoparsec says that the same technique felt unfeasible for the 1,020 keys needed for the letter getter, and he had done it before. Instead, Attoparsec opted to use dye-sublimation on blank keycaps to print all 1,020 keys, which is a method of printing used in many cheaper consumer keyboards.

After all this work, Attoparsec says, "There's so many keys, and yet somehow not nearly enough". He describes the 1,000 words as rather limiting, not only because 1000 words aren't enough for all you might want to say. The 1,000 words have a particular focus on body parts and incomplete categories like "1-7" and "10" but no "8" or "9".

On his normal keyboard, Attoparsec achieved 83 words per minute at an accuracy of 97% on a typing speed test. Doing a typing speed test with only words from the ten hundred computer letter getter, he managed to achieve just 13 words per minute.

Finishing out the script for his video using only the letter getter, Attoparsec says:

"This is a full body thing to do. It does kind of feel like you're using some early computer, though, or an imaginary mad thinker thing from a bad movie, so that's pretty cool." Well said, Attoparsec, well said.

Best gaming mouseBest gaming keyboardBest gaming headset


Best gaming mouse: the top rodents for gaming
Best gaming keyboard: your PC's best friend...
Best gaming headset: don't ignore in-game audio

TOPICS
James Bentley
Hardware writer

James is a more recent PC gaming convert, often admiring graphics cards, cases, and motherboards from afar. It was not until 2019, after just finishing a degree in law and media, that they decided to throw out the last few years of education, build their PC, and start writing about gaming instead. In that time, he has covered the latest doodads, contraptions, and gismos, and loved every second of it. Hey, it’s better than writing case briefs.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
DirkMcGirk's mechanical cheeseboard on a platter of fruits and crackers
I've never wanted a keyboard with cheese keycaps and a little mouse on it until I saw this one
Astrohaus Freewrite Wordrunner keyboard front and back shot
The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process
The Monsgeek Bun Wonderland gaming keyboard on show at CES 2025.
This keyboard combines two of my favorite things: mechanical switches and bread
Dry Studio's PETBRICK 65 mechanical keyboard is partially seen at an angle. Inspired by calico cats, both the keyboard and its substantial, fluffy plush frame have patches of orange, black, and cream. A cat paw design is featured prominently on the Enter key.
This fluffy keyboard is low-key heinous—but meets the exact intersection of my interests
A close up image of the Drop + The Lord of the Rings Gondor CSTM80 gaming keyboard
Forget Gondor, Drop's latest LOTR-themed keyboard has my approval because it's got a tiny little sword on the Enter key
Wooting 80HE on a desk and controlled by the Wootility.
There's one reason I come back to this one rapid trigger gaming keyboard over the rest, and that's great software
Latest in Gaming Keyboards
a picture of Attoparsec's 'ten hundred letter getter', a keyboard with 1,000 words on it.
'I made the world's worst keyboard': This YouTuber's homemade board has over 1,000 keys and types in words, not letters
The Cherry MX 8.2 Wireless Xaga gaming keyboard sits on a large mouse mat depicting a nebula. This visual motif ties into the shooting star design on the keyboard's space bar. The keyboard's RGB lights are on, but the design on the space bar is opaque, so the RGB lights only shine through the frosted sides of the keyboard's alphanumeric keycaps.
Cherry MX 8.2 TKL Wireless XAGA review
The Cherry Xtrfy K4V2 TKL gaming keyboard on top of a mouse pad depicting a nebula. The keyboard is grey with red accent keys, a grey braided wire, and the bright RGB lights switched on.
Cherry Xtrfy K4V2 TKL review
The Corsair K70 Pro TKL gaming keyboard seen from above, with the wrist rest attached, on a well-lit desk. Game mode has been activated, bathing every key in red light.
Corsair K70 Pro TKL review
DirkMcGirk's mechanical cheeseboard on a platter of fruits and crackers
I've never wanted a keyboard with cheese keycaps and a little mouse on it until I saw this one
A close up image of the Drop + The Lord of the Rings Gondor CSTM80 gaming keyboard
Forget Gondor, Drop's latest LOTR-themed keyboard has my approval because it's got a tiny little sword on the Enter key
Latest in News
a picture of Attoparsec's 'ten hundred letter getter', a keyboard with 1,000 words on it.
'I made the world's worst keyboard': This YouTuber's homemade board has over 1,000 keys and types in words, not letters
Baldur's Gate 3 villain Raphael, staring intently at the viewer.
"Eager to get me on my knees, Raphael?" Baldur's Gate 3 mod lets you romance the silk-tongued cambion devil, although maybe you shouldn't, yeah?
A cat gets an affectionate head-scratch in miHoYo's Zenless Zone Zero.
Zenless Zone Zero developer finally embraces its divine domain as the god of jiggle physics, goes mad, adds them to cat balls
Image for
Space Marine 2 CEO puts the boot into the Saints Row team's twitching corpse from his private jet: 'Who's going to fund them for the next game after that disaster?'
Yeston RX 9070
Chinese graphics card maker claims RX 9070 supply will be 'stable' from April while AMD commits to more MSRP graphics cards though admits it's something 'we don't directly control'
Sennheiser HD 550 on a white box.
Sennheiser says it 'will not become a gaming brand' but its new HD 550 are a good excuse to use audiophile headphones for gaming