Finally diving in to Marcin Wichary’s Shift Happens, and already came across this gem on the early development of what would eventually become the Remington No. 1:
[T]he team put the ribbon behind the page, between the paper and the platen. A typebar strike would cause the imprint of a letter to appear on the other side, and this required paper to be thin enough for the letters to make an impression through it. Only later, in September 1869, did someone come up with the idea of putting the ribbon in front of the paper, making it possible to print on paper of regular thickness. “When this was discovered, Mr. Sholes laughed over his own obtuseness and that of his associates, that they should have been so long in discovering this simple little change which made so much difference in the character of the work.”
― Marcin Wichary, Shift Happens Volume 1, p. 24
I feel hopeful when I hear stories of people who eventually succeed having moments where they got things absurdly wrong.
I also love the detail about the reaction to finding a better way. Sholes laughs it off. Humility and appreciating iterative thinking.
This Builds Character 