# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/21 "2015-10-08T14:24:27Z")
Why fix the problem when you can come up with a [product](http://www.erwincomp.com/ip67-waterproof-scrollpd-mouse-adesso-inc-imouse-w2.html#.VhZ7iyvL_go) to save you from it… Also,[this.](http://www.gocontigo.com/mugs/?mug_type=243) Glad I could help. Although, maybe you should ignore this because your story is way funnier. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/22 "2015-10-08T23:04:55Z")
I drowned my last wireless mouse in a glass of iced tea. I now drink from a lidded glass with a straw. Helps limit the inevitable spills as well. ---
**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 9, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/23 "2015-10-09T00:20:38Z")
> [@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. I’ve done both of these on several occasions…except replace coffee with beer… ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/24 "2015-10-09T00:23:41Z")
> [@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. Should it worry me that you are an airline pilot? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/25 "2015-10-09T13:03:30Z")
> [@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. Great, until you knock it over and soak your laptop :eek: ---
**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 9, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/26 "2015-10-09T13:20:38Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > Great, until you knock it over and soak your laptop :eek: Actually my laptop is used exclusively on my lap while I’m in an easy chair. The situation I’m referring to is my work desk. Two keyboards and two mice are in vulnerable positions but my desk is pretty big so there is some open room. My 4 computers are sitting safely to the side of my desk and the 3 screens are on a riser on the back of my desk. So far I’ve only had a few mishaps in the last few years (one of them happened yesterday) which I find somewhat amazing considering that I’m most definitely a big klutzy lop. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/27 "2015-10-09T15:08:37Z")
wait a minute…this is about a mouse? I swing it around and slam it into a wall- I can’t imagine mouses’ would not be water proof! Phones no. They’re done drowned ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/28 "2015-10-09T15:47:11Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Actually my laptop is used exclusively on my lap while I’m in an easy chair. > > The situation I’m referring to is my work desk. Two keyboards and two mice are in vulnerable positions but my desk is pretty big so there is some open room. My 4 computers are sitting safely to the side of my desk and the 3 screens are on a riser on the back of my desk. > > So far I’ve only had a few mishaps in the last few years (one of them happened yesterday) which I find somewhat amazing considering that I’m most definitely a big klutzy lop. Wow, that’s some set-up! Day trader? Movie editor? Gamer? Hacker? Evil Genius? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/29 "2015-10-09T16:49:25Z")
If I leave the room with a can of Diet Fresca open on my desk, the can gets dumped all over my keyboard. This has happened three times and my laptop is fine. Damn bird and his wicked habits. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/30 "2015-10-09T18:42:30Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > 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. 🙂 I must have a defective wired mouse because when the cats inevitably knock it down, it always has enough room to hit the floor. I’m surprised it’s not dead yet for the amount of times they’ve sent it flying. Also, my cat is able to click the button with just a forceful flick of the tail. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/31 "2015-10-12T22:13:47Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Sounds like you need a cup holder–put on the opposite side from the mouse. Most computers these days actually come equipped with [cup holders](http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid/cs_cdroms.shtml) :D. > [@pantastic](#): > > …(You could put it into uncooked rice to help it dry.)… Actually, the rice thing [seems to be debunked](https://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2014/05/06/gazelles-guide-water-damage-truth-rice-galaxy-everything/). (pity I didn’t read that before I put my newly-baptized phone into a bagful of the stuff; fortunately the phone was barely dunked, as it was in a fanny pack when I fell in the creek, but I ripped out the battery within 90 seconds just to be safe). Per the linked article, drying the mouse in front of a fan might well have been the best the OP could do. I wonder if dousing it with rubbing alcohol might have helped carry away the moisture?? Another alternative to the wireless mouse you’re using (or were, anyway): [Products - Logitech](http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-trackball-m570) Almost no table space required, you never pick it up, so it would be fairly hard to drop it into a drink. Of course it is not proof against having the drink dropped into _it_. It’s also large enough that it would not fit into the cup if you did knock it cup-ward. Downside: they do not make a left-hand version of it, but some of their other trackballs would work for a leftie. ---
**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 12, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/32 "2015-10-12T23:20:53Z")
**UPDATE:** After drowning my wireless mouse and after careful examination from wanna-be coroners, amateur medical examiners plus advice here at my home - the SDMB, my mouse is once again fully functional after a thorough rinse in distilled water, a luxurious rest on a terry-cloth towel under a heat fan and a fresh Energizer AA battery. My thanks to everyone’s advice for keeping me out of prison and the headlines on CNN, FoxNews, et al, for WIRELESS MOUSE MURDER! I will walk the straight line from now on. I am reformed. ---
**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 12, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/33 "2015-10-12T23:33:07Z")
> [@Cabin\_Fever](#): > > **UPDATE:** > > After drowning my wireless mouse and after careful examination from wanna-be coroners, amateur medical examiners plus advice here at my home - the SDMB, my mouse is once again fully functional after a thorough rinse in distilled water, a luxurious rest on a terry-cloth towel under a heat fan and a fresh Energizer AA battery. > > My thanks to everyone’s advice for keeping me out of prison and the headlines on CNN, FoxNews, et al, for WIRELESS MOUSE MURDER! > > I will walk the straight line from now on. I am reformed. Can we still agree you are an idiot? and by “you” I mean “we/me”…it’s me… its always been me whom is ans idiot. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/34 "2015-10-13T01:08:58Z")
What you need is a few mason jars with [sippy lids.](http://mirlandraskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/JarSipStrawLidCollageRoger.jpg) The jars are great too because they have a side bottom and are really tough to tip over. I switched to this method while Celtling was a toddler, and it was a lifesaver. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/35 "2015-10-13T11:07:28Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > What you need is a few mason jars with [sippy lids.](http://mirlandraskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/JarSipStrawLidCollageRoger.jpg) Somewhere there exists a picture of me with a sippy cup. At HiltonHead I was elected to watch the kids for a bit while the others went shopping. They gave me a sippy cup with scotch and ice in it. (Glass (and maybe alcohol) was not allowed on the beach) When everyone returned, the kids were all alive and my cup was empty. They refilled it and took the kids for a walk. At some point they came looking for me and I was passed out on the beach with an empty sippy cup on my chest. Photos were taken. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/36 "2015-10-13T16:34:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Somewhere there exists a picture of me with a sippy cup. > > At HiltonHead I was elected to watch the kids for a bit while the others went shopping. They gave me a sippy cup with scotch and ice in it. (Glass (and maybe alcohol) was not allowed on the beach) > > When everyone returned, the kids were all alive and my cup was empty. They refilled it and took the kids for a walk. At some point they came looking for me and I was passed out on the beach with an empty sippy cup on my chest. Photos were taken. But was your mouse still working? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905/37 "2015-10-13T16:57:48Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > But was your mouse still working? 🙂 My mouse was the only thing that wasn’t sun-burnt.😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-i-am-an-idiot/733905.md?page=1)