There are two established keyboard volumes, low and loud, represented by lowercase and uppercase respectively. WHEN WE READ WORDS IN UPPERCASE, we automatically imagine the person either shouting or jumping ecstatically. Ironically, it seems to be quite popular with SMSs from grandparents.

An American PR group named ‘Knock Twice’ researched the history and statistics linked to the Caps Lock button on our keyboards.

The beloved or hated Caps Lock button started off as a Shift key in 1878 on a Remington No.2 Typewriter, which then transformed into a Shift Lock in 1914. It was the Datapoint 2200, one of the earliest keyboard-based computers, that featured a shift lock key. In 1973, the Xerox Alto computer, the first computer similar to the ones we use nowadays, was released.

The Xero Alto included many features which were revolutionary for its time – including a folder system, a mouse, and, of course, the Caps Lock key.

It is interesting to note that sentences written in uppercase were considered rude long before people used it as an eye-catching tool to write their statuses.  Technological-aeons ago, in the early years of the internet, most conversation was only made up of text on message boards. With italic and bold text still unborn, emphasis was created with asterisks and shouting with capital letters.

According to statistics from the Twitter ‘CapsCop’, on Twitter, the most used Caps Locked phrases are ‘CAN’T WAIT’ (10%), followed by ‘JUST GOT’ (9%), ‘WANNA GO’ (7%) and ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ (7%).  The most Caps Locked Tweeted words are ‘JUST’ (13%), ‘F***’ (12%) and  ‘LOVE’ (11%). Surprisingly, ‘OMG’ and ‘LOL’ have lower uses at 9%.

Knock Twice state that studies prove that uppercase letters are harder to read than lowercase letters, especially in large blocks of text, because of the equal heights of the letters, which makes it harder for our brain to distinguish the individual shapes of letters whilst reading.

Are you a caps Lock fan? June 28 and October 22 are annually marked as International Caps Lock Days.