How to write “happy Mother’s Day” in Gregg Shorthand.

This is your two day warning! Send this to your Mom… there’s a good chance she will understand it.

There is an old handwriting system that is faster than typing. Masters have reached up to 280 Words per minute!

What you’re looking at is shorthand, a family of writing systems designed to capture speech at high speed. Systems like Gregg shorthand (developed in

1888) and Pitman shorthand (introduced in 1837) replaced full spelling with streamlined, phonetic symbols.

At its peak, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shorthand was essential for journalists, secretaries, and court reporters. Skilled practitioners commonly reached 120-160 words per minute, while top experts could exceed 200+ WPM. The often-cited ~280 WPM is rare but achievable in controlled conditions by elite stenographers.

The key advantage is efficiency: shorthand records sounds, not letters, eliminating unnecessary strokes.

Gregg, for example, uses flowing curves without lifting the pen, while Pitman varies line thickness and position to encode different sounds.

However, modern speed records are typically held by stenotype machines, not handwritten shorthand.

Using chorded keyboards, professional court reporters can exceed 300 WPM, making them faster than most typing speeds.

Added fact: Before audio recording became widespread, entire speeches, including parliamentary debates and courtroom testimony, were preserved almost exclusively through shorthand, making it one of the most important (and now largely forgotten)