17 
You probably use it without even thinking. You’ve may have used it today, maybe in anger and frustration, maybe with a definitive sigh. The escape key is a fixture of modern keyboards everywhere, but who invented it? The New York Times dug into the question.
From the New York Times:
The key was born in 1960, when an I.B.M. programmer named Bob Bemer was trying to solve a Tower of Babel problem: computers from different manufacturers communicated in a variety of codes. Bemer invented the ESC key as way for programmers to switch from one kind of code to another. Later on, when computer codes were standardised (an effort in which Bemer played a leading role), ESC became a kind of “interrupt” button on the PC – a way to poke the computer and say, “Cut it out.”
Perhaps the key’s most common use today—outside of full-screen gaming—is its important part in the “three-figured salute” PC users have come to know so well. JUST KIDDING. It’s part of the (better) three-fingered salute I use so often and you should know: CTRL+SHIFT+ESC. Still, it deserves a little veneration, don’t you think? You can check out the New York Time’s full peice for some more history on that key you know and (maybe) love. [The New York Times]
I’m betting that 90% of users – even on a forum like this – use CTRL + ALT + DEL followed by clicking on “Task Manager” rather than CTRL + SHIFT + ESC directly.
I know I did until very recently. Until 30 seconds ago to be precise.
This is indeed a revelation for me. Brilliant shortcut – how did I not know about this. Poor from me.
I’m betting 90% of users – even on a forum like this – use CTRL + ALT + DEL followed by clicking on the “Task Manager” rather than CTRL + SHIFT + ESC directly.
I know I did until very recently. 30 seconds ago to be precise.
This is indeed a revelation for me. Brilliant shortcut – how did I not know about this. Poor from me.
I always thought the three finger salute was CTRL-ALT-DEL.
And there was I thinking the “3 fingered salute” was CTRL+ALT+DEL, I guess I know nothing
While this is quite a revelation to me, I think CTRL + ALT + DEL is far too ingrained in me after all these years to change. what do you do? control-shift with right hand and esc with left? doing all 3 with left feels awful
Old dog, new tricks and all that
Do it with your left hand only. It feels weird because you shouldn’t be doing it very often. Think of it as nature’s way of reminding you that someone or something dun fooked up.
This is a truly painful shortcut to left-hand-only on my keyboard
that said I can’t see it being easier on any other keyboard either. You’d think with the frequency that you use task manager they would have made this a dedicated button like the windows key by now, let’s be honest, they could have done away with the “right click button” and made this instead.