# OMG. I am an idiot. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 8, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905 "2015-10-08T03:55:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/1 "2015-10-08T03:55:17Z")
So I sit down at my usual station monitoring the internet. Nothing going on at the moment, so I pour myself a cup of (_ahem_) coffee. My laptop is tuned into SDMB, Google, and an obscure website hosted from some server inside Outer Sloblovia which only streamed Marx Brothers movies and an occasional Charlie Chaplin film clip. I have (had) a wireless mouse in which my elbow just again knocked it into said cup. This is the second time in three days that I have done this. Please commit me to some institution that will prevent this from happening again. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/2 "2015-10-08T04:27:30Z")
I’ve lost a couple mice to beer pint monsters. I usually drink out of bottles or cans so it rarely is a problem, but every now and then I have a keg, or don’t want to drink out of a 40oz. In such cases, i now try to put the beer vessel to the opposite side of the mouse. And yes, Idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/3 "2015-10-08T04:35:58Z")
I’ve never made that exact mistake. But I do relate to having things set up exactly the way you like them. I tend to be either a slob or very neat and orderly, not much room in between. Not exactly a direct response to your comments but the best response I have at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/4 "2015-10-08T04:49:15Z")
Cat tail swinging with much abandon. :::: sigh :::: ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/5 "2015-10-08T04:57:12Z")
Sounds like you need a cup holder–put on the opposite side from the mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/6 "2015-10-08T05:02:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Sounds like you need a cup holder–put on the opposite side from the mouse. Yes, this is what I mean, find some way to make your tactile idiosyncrasies functional… ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/7 "2015-10-08T05:48:27Z")
> [@](#): > > wireless mouse umm…folks…you know why, when they invented that rolly-ball thing, they called it a mouse? Not just because it scurries around the tabletop—but because it has a **tail**. And there’s a reason why computer mice have “tails”: It’s a protective measure, to protect your equipment from the forces of nature. Because …as soon as you get up from your desk. the cat will jump onto it. And the cat will bat around anything that moves, till it falls off the table. Therefore, God and Bill Gates have decreed that mouse wires must always be shorter than the distance between the desk and the floor. Or the beer mug. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/8 "2015-10-08T06:25:04Z")
Wait, I’m not seeing the setup. How is your mouse able to get into the cup? Is the cup at a lower level somehow? Wouldn’t both be at desk height? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/9 "2015-10-08T12:21:51Z")
You feel even sillier when you try to move the screen pointer by waggling the coffee cup. Sloshing generally ensues. Drinking out of a mouse is difficult too. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/10 "2015-10-08T12:27:16Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Wait, I’m not seeing the setup. How is your mouse able to get into the cup? Is the cup at a lower level somehow? Wouldn’t both be at desk height? That makes two of us. If I set beverages on the floor I’d be kicking them over too much. My cup always sits right next to my mouse, just far enough to the right that I can use the open space for mouse navigation. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/11 "2015-10-08T12:31:57Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Wait, I’m not seeing the setup. How is your mouse able to get into the cup? Is the cup at a lower level somehow? Wouldn’t both be at desk height? Not in my case. The cup was sitting on the floor next to my chair. The mouse was on the arm of said chair. Elbow meets mouse and mouse drowns in cup. A sad day for all of us. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/12 "2015-10-08T12:43:26Z")
A strange little nudge of karma… After recently stating that my cup was safely off to the side of my wireless mouse, I just now picked up the cup and managed to slosh the contents onto my mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/13 "2015-10-08T12:51:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You feel even sillier when you try to move the screen pointer by waggling the coffee cup. Sloshing generally ensues. > > Drinking out of a mouse is difficult too. It was actually alive while immersed - green light - but it died while trying to dry it out in front of a fan. RIP mouse, sorry I killed you. _BTW, I hate track pads on laptops. Now I will have to find your cousin to replace you._ ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/14 "2015-10-08T13:14:38Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I’ve lost a couple mice to beer pint monsters. I usually drink out of bottles or cans so it rarely is a problem, but every now and then I have a keg, or don’t want to drink out of a 40oz. In such cases, i now try to put the beer vessel to the opposite side of the mouse. > And yes, Idiots. I don’t play basketball, but the warranty on the MS Wireless mouse says nothing about making a 3-pointer from ones’ chair into a cup of ale. Twice. I need a new hobby. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/15 "2015-10-08T13:29:53Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Sounds like you need a cup holder–put on the opposite side from the mouse. Just press the button on the front of the computer. The cup holder will slide right out. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/16 "2015-10-08T13:39:20Z")
Reminds me of something: I share an office with my boss (well, my dad). It’s up two steps from the rest of the building. A few years back he walked (well, stomped) into the office. When he did that a clock fell off the wall, landed on his desk and knocked over a cup of water which spilled all over his keyboard and all the papers he had on his desk. I told him, again, that he should, for this reason, use bottled water or at least something with a lid. He couldn’t stop laughing and said that in 25+ years, that’s never happened and he wasn’t worried about it. The _exact_ same thing happened about 2 hours later. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/17 "2015-10-08T13:43:14Z")
> [@Cabin\_Fever](#): > > The cup was sitting on the floor next to my chair. I think I found your problem. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/18 "2015-10-08T13:53:32Z")
> [@Cabin\_Fever](#): > > The cup was sitting on the floor next to my chair. Of all the possible negative outcomes you inevitably were setting yourself up for, the final result was the most Rube-Goldbergian. Congratulations. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/19 "2015-10-08T13:58:54Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > That makes two of us. If I set beverages on the floor I’d be kicking them over too much. > My cup always sits right next to my mouse, just far enough to the right that I can use the open space for mouse navigation. Good gosh almighty My glass cannot be next to the mouse…suddenly I am all full of “accidents waiting to happen” This growing old stuff is getting old! Call me Ms Clumsy! In the last few weeks I have spilled not less than 5 drinks I will just have to continue using adult sippy cups! ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/20 "2015-10-08T14:04:20Z")
> [@Cabin\_Fever](#): > > It was actually alive while immersed - green light - but it died while trying to dry it out in front of a fan. > RIP mouse, sorry I killed you. If it’s really alive when you kill power to it, it should be OK. Did you try rinsing it with distilled water, then letting it dry before turning it on? (You could put it into uncooked rice to help it dry.) It may be too late for this mouse, but I suspect you’ll have to deal with this again in the future. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905.md?page=2)