When i first typed i used on an old manual typewriter (German layout); it has a half-backspace key so i would use that to make an em-dash with dashes and no gap.
In school i had keyboarding classes on big typewriters too! Despite all that, i never learned to touch type— until switching to Dvorak in the summer before going to college.
Responding to AOL instant messages while referring to a printed keyboard layout went very slowly, but i was forced to learn!