# What's on your desk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169 "2005-02-27T19:16:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/1 "2005-02-27T19:16:41Z")
I’m mainlining _Transmetropolitan_ and it’s made me mean and put me in touch with my journalisitic roots. And I’ve noticed that my desk still looks like a newsies desk. My desk, on which I’m working (screwing around) now contains: 9 dead soldier diet soda cans 1 lava lamp (pink) 1 router 1 cable modem 1 flat planel monitor 2 cheap speakers 1 collectible gas station jelly jar c. 100 squished pennies in above jelly jar c 20 pennies that don’t fit. 1 empty bag of Cheddar Cheez Combos 1 empty bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos 1 half full bag of Nache Cheese Doritos 1 half full box of Raisinets _Transmetropolitcan_ books 2 and 3 _Preacher_ books 2 and 3 _The Fellowship of the Ring_ 1 copy of PvP issue 14 1 Netflix pack (unopened) 1 review pack for _The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth_ 3 envelopes with my taxes 1 envelope with tax stuff for my accountant 2 indentical letters from a firm telling me they’ve found ‘unclaimed assets’ for me 1 pint glass inscribed ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ 1 shot glass inscribed the same 1 map of the Caribbean from PIRATES 1 Lord of the Rings mouse pad 1 set of Kim Possible action figures 2 bottles of Robitussin 1 rag used for cleaning vomit 2 bottles of calcium supplements 3 pinbacks with ‘PCR’ in Russian letters 4 pinbacks with Mary Prankster’s logo 1 candle lighter 1 large mason jar with a black candle burning 1 small mason jar with an orange candle burning 1 large mason jarr completely filled with leftover wax from previous candles 2 pumpkin carving tools 1 coaster in the form of roman mosiac 1 peanut butter jar lid 1 nail clipper 1 swiss army knife 1 statement from my broker 1 copy of Analog magazine 2 pens (different models) You? ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/2 "2005-02-27T19:27:04Z")
**Jonathan** , dahling, you have a big-assed desk. I have a teeny-tiny desk, and it has the following items: - Flat panel monitor - keyboard - mid-grade speakers - HP deskjet printer - 1 ink pen - 1 penny - a glass of iced lemonade - a small handful of daffodils brought to me just now by my 3 year-old - a roll of purple duct tape - a flower brooch - a greeting card - my and **Stonebow** ’s SCA membership cards - some dust :o I have to go get a cloth now to spruce it up. ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/3 "2005-02-27T19:36:53Z")
I have: 17 workbooks (mostly SAT-preparation type books. Why? I don’t know.) 1 computer 1 keyboard 1 optical wireless mouse 3 pencil cases and everything in them 1 copy of _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ 10 different issues of “National Geographic” 1 calculator 1 candle 1 webcam 1 pair of black gloves 1 half-full/half-empty can of Nestea 1 speaker 1 sketch of Constantine’s tattoos from the movie (I’m obsesssed :D) 3 binders 1 tenth-grade science textbook 1 half-finished script for drama class 3 sets of Kumon worksheets 1 French-English, English-French dictionary 5 rulers 4 pairs of scissors ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/4 "2005-02-27T19:38:16Z")
flat monitor Keyboard mouse telephone speakers small desk lamp bottle of water on a coaster pile of papers pencil paper napkin dust ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/5 "2005-02-27T19:39:09Z")
I am a college student with a relatively small desk. I am not a History major, though it may sound like it. 1 17" CRT monitor 2 speakers 1 keyboard 1 mouse 1 mousepad 1 external zip drive 1 webcam 1 joystick 1 pair of headphones A lot of wires 1 little piece of paper with some library call numbers and authors’ names 1 little piece of paper with a little math formula on it A book, _Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction_ 1 notebook with notes from about 6 History courses and maybe another course or two 1 notebook with notes from various humanities-type classes and a couple Geography classes 1 printed History paper assignment 1 “Jr. Bag Clip” 2 AA batteries in a small box 1 box of 36 slides 1 crate thing, with the following items in or on top of it: 1 notepad sort of thing 1 stapler 1 tape dispenser 1 electric pencil sharpener 1 day-by-day calendar for 2004 2 blank envelopes 4 pieces of assorted mail 1 box for the PC game Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault 1 instruction manual for said game 1 set of 4x6 prints develolped at Wal Mart (mostly pictures of Cincinnati) 1 AAA tourbook- Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio 1 digital camera in a small case 1 small stack of papers from last semester’s History course 1 clip-on lamp ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/6 "2005-02-27T19:39:58Z")
Mine looks rather like my room, meaning I know where everything is, but some stuff requires a bit of digging around to find. I have: 1 CD tower full of game & burnt AMV discs 1 spindle on top of the tower, empty save for two blanks-CDs-turned-coasters. The cover is also on my desk, just a different part _fixes that_ 1 RSV Bible 1 set of keys 1 laptop 1 printer 1 wire pen holder, containg 3 dry-erase markers and 5 pens of different colours 1 3-in-1 highlighter 1 floppy disk case containing one corrupted disk 1 CD wallet, mostly empty 1 solar/dynamo powered radio 1 tape recorder 1 pencil–still dunno where that came from _places in pen holder_ 1 half-empty bottle of lime pop 1 dolphin statue from Buck-or-Two 1 dragon optical illusion 1 empty glasses case 2 more coasters 1 PS2-\>USB adapter 1 book on runes 1 pencil case full of coloured pencils 1 half-eaten bag of skittles on top of pencil case 1 electronic database various other papers I can’t be bothered to list or even sort through. Organise? I don’t need to organise. I just ned a bigger desk 😉 ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/7 "2005-02-27T19:40:40Z")
I’m assuming we’re talking about on the surface of the desk. Mine, I believe, is perfect for the college student I am. \*Laptop \*Lexmark printer (tiny! Crappy!) \*Empty paper cup (hot chocolate), empty mug (coffee), empty cup (OJ from cafeteria). All dirty. \*Empty can of Blue Sky rasberry soda (Yummy!) \*Three empty cans of Mountain Lightning, which is cheap-ass Mountain Dew. \*One styrofoam cafeteria cup of Lucky Charms, currently being eaten. \*Tape dispenser \*Metal ruler \*Euclid’s _Elements_, my math notebook, my Greek notebook, and a greek lexicon, all open. \*_Nicomachean Ethics_, closed. \*A copy of a local alt-weekly newspaper. \*Empty yogurt container with pens/pencils \*Candle, unlit \*Incense, lit (and illegal in my dorm! Fun!) \*A tube of Carmex \*Big 64-disc CD/DVD binder \*half-used pack of printer paper \*Decorative clock from Parent’s weekend (brilliantly, they gave all attendants one, so some families came away with three or four). \*A commemorative Crayola tin with crayons and colored pencils within (I use them for sketching out constructions of math proofs. And coloring, for stress relief. Shut up, the number of ‘deep’ books on my bookshelf outweigh that.) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/8 "2005-02-27T19:51:33Z")
> [@FaerieBeth](#): > > **Jonathan** , dahling, you have a big-assed desk. Sadly, no. 2’ by 4’. Bought at Wal-Mart two years ago. Small, as these things go. I missed earlier: Endless business cards from people who may want to give or loan me money. c. 120 empty #10 envelopes for correspondence. 4 mason jar lids being used to hold small items 3 guitar picks (Fender Medium) ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/9 "2005-02-27T19:58:36Z")
The surface of my desk has; - A copy of the Yellow Pages - A moniter atop said book - Two speakers - A phone - A plastic box - A cinema ticket voucher - A digital camera - A halogen lamp - A mousemat - A mouse atop said mat - One CD rack - 17 CDs in said rack - 9 CDs next to the rack - 27 DVDs - A box of tissues - A printer - A pencil case - A ten pound note - A case of coloured pens - A case of coloured crayons - A pile of birthday cards - A pile of Thank You cards - A disposable camera with 16 remaining shots - Half a handcuff - A copy of “Be my enemy” by Christopher Brookmyre - An ink pen - A pencil pot, with no working pens in, some dead cells, some post-it notes and some jigsaw pieces in it And finally - An empty glass. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/10 "2005-02-27T20:00:12Z")
Right now I’m using my kitchen table as my computer desk, so there’s lots of room. I have: Flat panel monitor Lexmark printer Keyboard and mouse The optical thingy for the keyboard and mouse Power strip with accompanying cords plugged into it Telephone base (phone is in the living room) Bottle of Diet Coke Pack of smokes Ashtray Cube of memo paper Art glass dish full of Halls Fruit Breezers Ink refill for a pen Case of Girl Scout Caramel Delight cookies Two packages of Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patty cookies Box from my modem Bar of Peppermint & Oatmeal soap from [blueheronsoap.com](http://blueheronsoap.com) 1/4 bag of potato chips Stack of grocery coupons Car insurance cards (2) My purse Expando-folio with receipts/bills Empty plastic grocery bag Assorted junk mail Phone bill Three books ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/11 "2005-02-27T20:06:51Z")
15" Apple Powerbook G4 IBM Thinkpad T42P iPod Shuffle, plus headphones Logitech MX1000 optical mouse Rotring 600 mechanical pencil Halogen desk lamp I hate clutter. I have lots of other stuff that is _used_ on my desk, but when I’m done with it, it’s goes back in the drawer/cabinet/etc. ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/12 "2005-02-27T20:09:55Z")
There isn’t enough bandwidth in the entire Universe 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Delly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Delly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/13 "2005-02-27T20:11:14Z")
My desk has: [ul]Monitor[/ul] [ul]Printer[/ul] [ul]Keyboard[/ul] [ul]2 Speakers[/ul] [ul]College schedule[/ul] [ul]College planner[/ul] [ul]LOTR day-by-day Calender[/ul] [ul]Floppy Disks[/ul] [ul]Pink China piggy bank[/ul] [ul]Mouse[/ul] [ul]3 Mousepads[/ul] [ul]3 Pens[/ul] Thats whats on the surface of the desk, wont get into whats on the shelves/ in the drawers. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/14 "2005-02-27T20:31:06Z")
Surface of my home desk: 'm skipping all the things like computer, pens, lamp, CDs, diskettes. You know all that. Interesting things: [ul] [li] Three small stuffed animals, a penguin, a bear dressed as a Canadian Mountie, and a bunny.[/li][li] The wooden fish I made in high school shop class. I don’t know why it’s here.[/li][li] My address book.[/li][li] A little wooden train I built and painted. The wheels really turn![/li][li] A hairclip.[/li][li] A baby A-B-C book for Hindi. I use to remember my alphabet when I’m writing letters.[/li][li] A pair of dice 20’s.[/li][li] A picture of my deceased grandfather (on the desk) and two pictures of birds (stuck to the doors of the shelf).[/li][li] A knife for shaving pewter miniatures.[/li][li] A key. Not sure what it’s for.[/li][li] A plastic bird.[/li][li] Clear nailpolish.[/li][li] A screw.[/li][li] A spool of black strong.[/li][/ul] I think that’s all the interesting or slightly unusual stuff, though. At work, the interesting things I have: [ul] [li] A Mr. Potato Head.[/li][li] A Newton’s Cradle.[/li][li] A stork carrying a little bag in its beak. [/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/15 "2005-02-27T21:28:25Z")
I happen to be at work now (at work on on a Sunday, how blasphemous!), and my desk contains, from left to right: - A pile of old manual printouts - A small notepad containing edit notes - A box containing a pair of those metal Chinese hand exercise balls - A paperclip holder - A pencil/pen holder - User manual for my new Ipaq - “A Guide to QuarkXpress” - A timer consisting of a sand hourglass suspended in a tube of water - My Avaya office phone - A demo CD of Adobe’s new Creative Suite - Misc. Email printouts - Stapler - “XML - A Primer” - My old Handspring Visor (w/ broken screen) and its cradle - My PC, a Dell Precision 350 - A model of a United Airlines DC-7 on top of the Dell - An Amateur Band Plan chart taped to the side of the Dell (I recently acquired my Ham license, it was a very valuable study aid). - A Memorex CF flashcard reader -My new Ipaq and its PC cable -My cherished Norton (the motorcycle, not the anti-virus) coffee mug -A coffee mug pad hand-knitted by my wife -Computer monitor -A model of an ANA Lockheed Tri-Star on top of the monitor -A sticker on the monitor that reads “Work Sucks! I’m Going Road Racing!” -A photo of myself and my cafe racer taped to the monitor -A model of a Ducati MH900e Evoluzione - A photo of my wife and I at a recent trackday - A wedding photo of my wife - A business card for the coordinator of the local Amateur Radio Emergency Service group - Assorted pens and pencils lying about - Lots more assorted printouts that I really need to go through and organize - A clock w/ date display and temp readout -An original marketing model of the new Airbus A380 from what back when it was still the A3XX - Bookshelf containing the following: [ul] [li]Previous versions of my manuals (“Centinel User Guide”, “Centinel Operations Manual”, “CPAPi Operations Manual”)[/li][li]“Teach Yourself Robohelp 2000 in 24 Hours”[/li][li]“Dennis Kirk Metric Bikes 2005 Catalog”[/li][li]“Adobe Framemaker 6.0 User Guide”[/li][li]“O’Reilly Java in a Nutshell”[/li][li]“2005 Card Industry Directory”[/li][/ul] - A stack of music CDs: [ul] [li]“Monsoon Wedding Soundtrack”[/li][li]“The Greatest Dance Album in the World”[/li][li]“Time-Out (Dave Brubeck Quartet)”[/li][li]“Bootleg Andre’ CD”[/li][li]"'Til Shiloh (Buju Banton)"[/li][li]“Tear The Roof Off, 1974-1980 (Parliament)”[/li][li]“The Chronic (Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog) Still one of the best albums EVA)”[/li][li]“Reggae Gold 1999”[/li][li]“3 years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of… (Arrested Development)”[/li][li]“Legend (Bob Marley and the Wailers)”[/li][li]“Rattle & Hum (U2)”[/li][/ul] - One of those Chinese Restaurant supply calendars (Courtesy of Reliable Restaurant Supplies Co, Ltd Scarborough, Ontario) ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/16 "2005-02-27T21:40:51Z")
Lesse… on my desk I have: Laptop Mouse DSL modem 3 candles mini flashlight 2 empty soda cans Mug with just a swig of cold coffee left empty water bottle 3 pictures (2 with my son and either cousins or me and 1 of a lake in Kananaskis that I snapped) Necklace Ring watch bracelet 2 calculators scraps of papers with notes phone cards napkins elastics some CD’s I’ve burned disk 2 of Buffy S1 2 post it note pads lamp half a handcuff set nail file nose powder hand lotion earrings coins 3 floppies (which are useless to me unless I set up my old PC again) old lotto tickets sex coin $0.13 I wouldn’t go through my desk, there’s way too much crammed inside lol ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/17 "2005-02-27T21:42:56Z")
My desk? - Giant microbe (Streptococcus pneumoniae) - Coffee cup, half full, spoon still in it - Hematology binder - Hematology lab binder - Stack of paper on which I’m writing my Hematology review notes (notice a theme here?) - Black pen - Green highlighter - Orange Highlighter - Red pen - Small ruler - White-Out in that paper strip form - Orange Post-it flags - Pencil case - Pencil jar - Cell phone - Desk lamp - Purell saniziter - A pad of pretty writing paper - Index cards in unopened package - Perfume sample (Alfred Sung’s Paradise) - Mp3 player - Paperclips - Chap stick - Chocolate Valentines heart - Smart Set gift certificate - Bank statement ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/18 "2005-02-27T21:55:21Z")
Laptop Headphones Microphone Empty packet of gum Chopsticks Lassen Volcanic Natl. Park pocketknife, with the scissors open Printer Keyboard Stack of CD-Rs Notebook USB gamepad A myriad of various cords and cables surge protector pencil holder several mousepads empty packet of cough drops “Running with Scissors” CD by Wierd Al Yankovic several wrappers TI-83 graphing calculator Crappy Lexmark printer that doesn’t work lamp cup with some pencils slide rule Chrono Cross, disc 1 Final Fantasy VII, discs 1 and 2 empty water glass a bone (I think it’s a deer bone. Got it from a friend who found it while camping two years ago) the book “Flags of Our Fathers”, by James Bradley a 128 MB RAM stick a 2.4 gig Pentium 4 the manual to a TI-89 graphing calculator calender digital watch manual egg of silly putty deck of playing cards tin of mints a pair of those glasses you use to see 3d images empty packet of sunflower seeds ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/19 "2005-02-27T21:56:44Z")
The **desk** desk has: Telephone Picture of Littlecats in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit- 1 day old Daytimer cellphone bill sorter/notepad holder 2 more pictures of Littlecats tape dispenser paper clip holder fluorescent gooseneck desk lamp stapler cube-style calendar Strongbad coaster Lumatec systems coaster NFPA 04-05 membership collar pin pen/scissors/receipts/misc stuff organizer last week’s lottery tickets some stuff in between read and thrown away calculator RAM technology engraved carabiner pen/scissors computer desk is totally different ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169/20 "2005-02-27T22:05:43Z")
Monitor, keyboard, mouse and mouse pad, speakers, digicam, pens, stapler, empty diet cherry vanilla Dr Pepper can, CD wallet, and a whole bunch of miscellaneous papers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-on-your-desk/292169.md?page=2)