Born from a joke, the keyboard designed for those who have the need – or perhaps the bad habit – of copying large portions of text has become a reality! Indeed, on 1 April, Stack Overflow, a platform used by developers to ask questions about programming, launched a provocation regarding the bad habit that many users have of copying the code compiled by others and reusing it within their projects. Apparently, a quarter of the 15 million visitors of Stack Overflow would copy-paste within five minutes of visiting the site. “Good artists copy. Great artists steal. Greatest artists copy, then paste” was the slogan used to announce the device that would allow all buyers to continue copying and pasting from the platform without any restrictions.  

However, given the genuine and unexpected interest of many users, The Key – that is its name – has actually been realised and can be pre-ordered for $29 – around €25.

Designed by Cassidy Williams, a mechanical keyboard enthusiast, it is a miniature keyboard with a USB cable and just three keys: C, V and Control (or Command for Mac users), but in this version, the Stack Overflow logo appears. However, as it is reconfigurable, as well as being used to copy text – or code – and paste it, it can be set to suit different needs.

According to what has been announced on the official page, the first units will be shipped from 13 December onwards and with worldwide delivery available.