Typewriter

Before the advent of computers and keyboards, writers were forced to use manual typewriters to communicate their thoughts on why the latest Doctor Who shouldn't be a woman. Invented in the 1880s, these devices used metal type slugs slapping against an ink ribbon to imprint characters onto paper. When a mistake was made, the writer would press the backspace button, which would cause the typewriter to self-destruct and fly back into space, hence the term.