World’s fastest typist. Watch this lady type 185 words a minute and the awe of the students.
Put it this way. Stella Pajunas in 1946 set, and still holds, the world record for typing at 216 words per minute.
The average person types around 40 words per minute. (See the infographic on this page.)
My high-school typing teacher could do 80 wpm on a manual typewriter, the kind I learned on. If you are younger than 40, I suspect you have very little concept of the sheer revolution the computer and word processor had on communication.
Enjoy the video!
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Back in the era of electric typewriters, I applied for a job that involved typing minutes from meetings I attended. I told the interviewer that I typed no faster than 60 words a minute, because that’s how fast I thought. I got the job.
185 per minute AND she had to make a judgment call on when to hit the return carriage button because the text didn’t automatically go to the next line like it does in a word processing program. Amazing.
Remember the little bell dinging when you passed a certain point on the platen?
One hundred eighty-five words per minute is amazing! If you tried typing that fast on a manual typewriter, you would probably lock-up the keys. I took typing the first semester of my junior year in high school. Unfortunately, two weeks after classes began, I broke my wrist playing football. With a cast that immobilized my left arm from my hand up past my bent elbow, I typed 27 words per minute using only my right hand. The cast came off a week or two before the semester ended and I was able to increase my speed (with two hands) to 55 wpm. Some of the girls in the class had progressed to electric typewriters by that time and were approaching 75 to 80 wpm. I was impressed. I also wanted to take a semester of shorthand to help me take notes in college but was told shorthand classes were for girls only.
What a pity they didn’t let you take shorthand. It has been a benefit to me through the years, from taking notes in college classes, to leaving notes to myself when I didn’t want family members to read them.
I remember when my typing teacher moved me and a few other guys to the IBM Selectric so that we could get our speed up. It worked. I finished the year at 34 words per minute.
Just think how fast she would type today without having to hit ‘enter’ and reset her hands after each line!
Wow! And I loved the reactions of the onlookers. *Sigh* There’s something comforting about the sound of an IBM Selectric typewriter. The smoothest keystrokes. I made it to 65 before the 3rd mistake.
And I thought I was fast in high school at 88 wpm. Wow, that lady was fantastic!
That fast…and she has to wait for the machine to jump to a new line. Amazing! Now I want to go test my typing speed. Lol.
Working my way to finish my Nursing Degree in 1975 I typed manuscripts for an office set up on campus to assist returning Viet Nam Vets. I had served in the Air Force as a nurse for 4 years of the war, was enjoying the benefit of the GI Bill for education and my heart was so grateful to be able to encourage the returning veterans in this way.
I agree with practice you truly increase your proficiency, and I was doubly blessed to be doing a worthwhile task in the meantime!
Bless the WWII veterans, maybe Stella Pajunas was typing for them. Bless the Viet Nam veterans who still suffer the repercussions – Lord bless all veterans!!!
Amazing! I wonder how she would do on a manual typewriter.
Wow. 185. I think I topped out at about 120 WPM.
I doubt I could type very fast today but I once had a boss comment on how fast I typed (I was a writer, not a typist). That was on an IBM Selectric, I believe, as it was pre-computer. But I’m sure I never approached even 100 words per minute!
After watching this, I had to test my own speed. I can reach 99 words per minute with 96% accuracy. That’s probably how I was able to finish a draft from blank page to 120K words in 6 weeks. Also, obsession. Obsession helps.