INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY

Categories:: Fun
Tags:: Awareness Work
Where:: World
Date change rule:: Every October 22
Holiday emoji:: 📣

INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY, observed every October 22, is a spirited, unofficial holiday dedicated to the often-debated Caps Lock key. It’s a day to playfully embrace the all-caps writing style or to raise awareness about proper online etiquette. Join the fun by sharing your loudest messages and engaging in spirited digital banter.

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Expected INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY Deals

While specific INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY promotions are rare, consumers can anticipate deals on computer peripherals and productivity software around late October. Major electronics retailers like Best Buy and Amazon often run sales on keyboards, mice, and monitors. Brands such as Logitech and Razer might feature discounts on their gaming or ergonomic keyboards, encouraging a fresh typing experience. Software companies like Grammarly could offer promotions on premium subscriptions, highlighting tools that help refine writing style. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as October 22 approaches.

Platform Guide for INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY

TikTok

Tag @www.nationaltoday.com and use #InternationalCapsLockDay. Create a humorous skit about accidentally leaving Caps Lock on, or share tips for proper online etiquette.

Instagram

Tag @nationaltoday_ and use #InternationalCapsLockDay. Post a graphic with a bold, all-caps message, or a photo of your favorite keyboard setup.

X/Twitter

Mention @NatlToday and use #InternationalCapsLockDay. Share your funniest all-caps tweets or engage in a debate about when it’s acceptable to use Caps Lock.

INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY Hero

Derek Arnold

Derek Arnold, a software developer, is credited with creating INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY. He established the original observance on October 22, 2000, as a satirical holiday to poke fun at the misuse of capital letters in online communication. Arnold later added a second observance on June 28, specifically to honor the late infomercial pitchman Billy Mays, known for his enthusiastic, all-caps delivery style. His creation brought a humorous spotlight to digital etiquette.

History of INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY

It was 2000 when Derek Arnold, a software developer in Iowa, chose October 22 as the day when everyone should press the Caps Lock key and type only in upper case letters. He said, “International Caps Lock Day is in fact a testament to the small-mindedness of certain Western individuals: the majority of the world’s population writes in scripts which have no concept of letter casing. Therefore it is advised not to laugh at anyone who invokes this day as an excuse to dismiss local typographical conventions: they are simply making an ass out of themselves.”

Arnold sent a tongue-in-cheek message to everyone who accidentally fat-fingers the Caps Lock key in daily life (U GONNA WEAR THE SAME THING U WORE TO BECKY’S WEDDING TO MADISON’S WEDDING??) or in professional communications on the job (JUST CHECKING IN TO SEE WHETHER YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE THE AMALGAMATED MARSHMALLOW SYSTEMS PROPOSAL READY BY 10 AM THIS MORNING?).

He wanted to remind us that upper case letters look like shouting, which is not nice. Because the recipients of our communications can’t gauge our volume or see our facial expression or body language, they can easily interpret our caps as ANGER, which is also not considered nice.

Before computers and shift-lock, most typewriters only produced capital letters way back in the olden days. During the 1870s, typewriter manufacturer Remington figured out an economical way to type both upper and lowercase letters. It did so by placing two symbols or letters, such as upper and lower case, on each typebar — the piece of metal that struck the letters onto the paper. To switch between the two symbols, writers used a Shift key, which physically moved the entire type bar apparatus.

Now, some people call the Caps Lock key, “the Billy Mays key” — a reference to the infomercial icon with the booming voice who exhorted us to call the 800 number and BUY NOW! So when Mays died on June 28, 2009, Arnold paid homage by adding a second, albeit secondary, day for celebrating International Caps Lock Day to the calendar.

INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY timeline

1874

Use Big Words

Remington introduces the typewriter featuring the first QWERTY keyboard, invented by Christopher Latham Sholes and Carlos Glidden, and it types only in upper case letters.

1878

Case Sensitive

The Remington No. 2, which can type in both upper and lower case letters, debuts.

2009

LISTEN UP

Derek Arnold adds June 28 as a second Caps Lock Day to the calendar in honor of the late, loud OxiClean pitchman Billy Mays, who always delivered his pitches in a voice that sounded as though the Caps Lock was stuck in his throat.

2015

Pink Slip

The Protecting Co., a workplace risk assessment firm in the U.K., compiles a list of reasons for terminations that include sending emails to customers in all upper case letters, using a font in lilac.

How Businesses Can Celebrate INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY

Local businesses can tap into the playful spirit of INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY by engaging with customers in a fun, albeit temporary, all-caps style. A coffee shop might offer a ‘LOUD’ discount to customers who order in all caps, or a retail store could announce a flash sale on social media entirely in capital letters. Tech repair shops could run promotions on keyboard cleaning or offer tips on disabling Caps Lock for those tired of accidental shouting. The key is to be humorous and temporary, avoiding actual online rudeness.

INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY FAQs

When is INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY?

INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY 2026 falls on Thursday, October 22, offering a mid-week opportunity to playfully engage with the keyboard’s loudest key.

How many keyboards are sold annually?

Globally, the keyboard market is substantial, with tens of millions of units sold each year. In 2026, the market is expected to continue its steady growth, driven by remote work and gaming trends.

What is the history of the Caps Lock key?

The Caps Lock key’s origins trace back to early typewriters, where it was a ‘shift lock’ mechanism to type all uppercase letters without holding down the Shift key. Its function has largely remained the same, despite evolving into digital keyboards.

What is the proper etiquette for using CAPS LOCK online?

In most online contexts, writing in all capital letters is considered the digital equivalent of shouting and is generally discouraged. It can be perceived as aggressive or rude, making it difficult for others to read.

How to Celebrate INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY

Practice just in case
Try changing the case of large blocks of text by plugging it into https://convertcase.net/, a handy conversion tool. You can make upper case, lower case, sentence case, title case, capitalized case, and alternating case.
Hit the button
Go ahead, post a tweet in upper case and see what reaction you get. Email your Mom, and see if you feel something that could legitimately be classified as passive aggression. This is the day to hit the caps lock on purpose, even if you're not really enraged. But maybe think about it before you reply to your boss.
See how many acronyms you know
An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of the words in a name or phrase and pronounced as a word. Have you noticed how many acronyms there are? Make a list: AWOL, POTUS, FUBAR, MADD, SWAT, AIDS, GIF, RADAR, SCUBA.

5 Facts About The Keyboard That Will Blow Your Mind

We have key keys
The keys used most are the delete key, the space bar, and the letter "e."
Early keyboards saved space
Early typewriter keyboards substituted a lower case "l" and an upper case "o" for the numbers one and zero.
There are keyboards for each hand
There are keyboards made for the left hand only and for the right hand only.
There are novelty keyboards
In 2009, Datamancer made a keyboard of SCRABBLE® tiles.
Some keyboards have "chords"
A chorded keyboard, or keyset, allows you to form characters by pressing several keys together, as in playing chords on a piano.

Why We Love INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY

We have anger issues
Do you have a hair-trigger temper? Do you scream at that creep in the Mazda who just cut you off? Instead of giving him the finger, go home, hit the caps lock, and tell your buddy all about it.
It affirms our power
An IT guy in Iowa created INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY, then felt okay about adding a second piece two it, more than six months apart. If he can do that, what can you do?
It's a teaching moment
Use the day to teach your kids about the proper uses for upper case letters. Introduce them to the concept of stylebooks, like the one from the Associated Press.