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top 200 commentsshow all 449

[–]T0tai 423 points424 points ago

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It wasn't the balls that got annoyingly dirty, it was the rolling plastic pieces inside that were really a pain in the ass to clean

[–]ExdigguserPies 352 points353 points ago

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I used to really enjoy it, sort of like cleaning your ears.

[–]thebeststine 117 points118 points ago

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Oddly I agree with you here. When I was in college and used a computer lab, cleaning the roller was one of the things I usually did.

[–]glenbolake 109 points110 points ago

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Same here. It's kind of like peeling the dried glue off the cap of a bottle of Elmer's. It's not entirely necessary, but it can make the thing work better and something about doing it can just feel really fun.

[–]mysticRight 84 points85 points ago

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When I was a little kid, I used to put Elmer's glue all over my hands, let it dry and try to peel it off in one giant piece. No greater satisfaction.

[–]Alacritous 50 points51 points ago

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It was like peeling sunburn off without the sunburn.

[–]MITstudent 7 points8 points ago

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I wonder if you can use glue to clean the ball and the insides. I always hated how the dirt fell into the inner parts of the mouse, if I scratched it off of the rollers inside. So, one day, I scratched it while lying down so that the dirt would fall out and it fell into my right eye. It stung a lot.

[–]Guyag 15 points16 points ago

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This. Was. Amazing.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Cleaning. Dried. Sweat. Is. Not.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points ago

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Elmer's glue? So that's what they call PVA glue over the pond? I suddenly feel smart now.

PS: You can sniff it

PPS: It's probably illegal and most likely bad for your health.

[–]mysticRight 1 point2 points ago

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Yeah, it is kind of like how we call things Rollerblades, Kleenex, Xerox, etc... the brand names have become synonymous with the product themselves.

When someone says Elmer's glue, everyone automatically thinks of the PVA variety, despite that Elmer's makes lots of different types of glue.

[–]minkle 1 point2 points ago

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it's usually more like "school" glue or "washable" glue. The white stuff.

[–]ericdjobs 1 point2 points ago

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shit I still do this....

did this the other day at work.. smeared it all over my fingers and peeled it off cause I was bored

[–]fool_of_a_took 13 points14 points ago

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This. I thought I was alone in this. D:

[–]punkfej 7 points8 points ago

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I still do it at work. I work in a police dispatch center, and there are still a few of those around, especially on the radios, on which we rarely use the mouse.

[–]nukii 11 points12 points ago

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Why would a radio have a mouse?

[–]callmelucky 36 points37 points ago

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To scare away elephants. Elephants ruin radios you know.

[–]TheoQ99 4 points5 points ago

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Their big ears deflect the radio signal, so it doesn't get to where it was supposed to go.

[–]TheDeanMan 1 point2 points ago

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And, you know, it kinda sucks when an elephant steps on your radio.

[–]Aww_Shucks 4 points5 points ago

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You think you're alone when you do everything.

[–]Bad_Sex_Advice 1 point2 points ago

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I'll never have the satisfaction of cleaning my balls. :(

[–]GreatWallOfGina 1 point2 points ago

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In the same vein, I love cleaning dirt out of the grooves in the bottom of my shoes or out of the grooves in gaming controllers.

[–]gid0ze 1 point2 points ago

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It was absolutely necessary for me, especially when playing games. The best part was when you got the entire piece of crud off of a roller in one piece.

"Wait, hold on guys, I have to clean my mouse."

[–]birdablaze 2 points3 points ago

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I worked in a call center where we would sit at any desk that was available. I would bring in a mechanical pencil and use the lead to scrape out the dust from the between the keys of my keyboard. It was so satisfying but really gross now that I think about it.

[–]thefreq 24 points25 points ago

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It was always satisfying, though, to have the ball roll like new afterwards.

[–]ExdigguserPies 9 points10 points ago

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Yeah, it really was.

[–]kimchifart 2 points3 points ago

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Yup, it was. Memories.

[–]Nosher 1 point2 points ago

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I found scraping the gunk of the little rollers with an exacto was also strangely therapeutic.

[–]veganatheist 1 point2 points ago

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Yeah, for about a day.

[–]BlackGuyWithAHammer 14 points15 points ago

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I would use a small screwdriver to chisel off the black curd that built up on the wheels.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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I would use a small screwdriver to chisel off the black curd dried secretions that built up on the wheels.

Fixed.

[–]0x33 11 points12 points ago

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I found myself randomly opening mice in other places and cleaning them, just so it would work better when I used it. And I think I was the only person in my town who did this because everywhere you went, the mouse tracking scrollers were always very dirty.

[–]HireALLTheThings 9 points10 points ago

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I once had to clean out my girlfriend's grandparents' computer. Thing was like 5 years old without being cleaned once. When it was running, it sounded like a friggin' boat.

I took a Q-Tip to the CPU fan and MY GOD, it was ecstasy.

[–]bananamoes 8 points9 points ago

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Oh god, cleaning your ears is divine.

[–]Cpart 4 points5 points ago

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I'd always try to get the chunks off in one piece around the plastic parts.

[–]whollyme 1 point2 points ago

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YES.

[–]Kevinsense 3 points4 points ago

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definitely enjoyed the chance to pick off some heavily caked-on crud from the rollers and reveling in the fruits of my labor watching the cursor shoot from one corner of the screen to the other. aaahhhhhh

[–]MgenGlder 1 point2 points ago

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As did I, it wasn't unlike that feeling you get after waxing your car and takin' it for a tune up.

[–]Kit_Emmuorto 1 point2 points ago

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Both are things that are best cleaned with a pen cap. Coincidence?

[–]grubas 1 point2 points ago

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My university still uses them on a few public computers, I love flipping them over to clean them. One day a guy looked at what I was doing, took the ball out, and promptly lost it, I remember doing that as a kid.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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[–]Flavioliravioli 1 point2 points ago

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Pulling a large tape of lint from the rollers with your nail felt very satisfying, especially when the mouse worked so smoothly afterwards.

[–]bananamoes 17 points18 points ago

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All that hair that would entangle itself around those rollers..

[–]thatbrazilian 15 points16 points ago

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It was a ritual cleaning those rolling before starting quake3. Now is the mouse pad.

[–]eastern_european_guy 32 points33 points ago

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There were a few occassions when we all played Quake 3 with trackballs, just for the fun of it. It felt like playing tag with wheelchairs.

[–]FunnyUpvoteForYou 12 points13 points ago

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Lol trackballs. There are some people though, like my buddy, who are better with trackballs than mice.

[–]MacFatty 5 points6 points ago

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I had a friend that used trackball aswell. I had to help him with some Diablo stuff back in the days, I almost raged because I felt handicapped.

[–]MadMageMC 3 points4 points ago

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I used a serial trackball back when StarCraft 1 was king. It made map scanning soooo much faster. None of that picking up and moving the mouse crap (yes, I know about adjusting the mouse sensitivity / range of motion). My friends just couldn't grasp how I could play so well with a trackball versus them with mice.

[–]paganize 6 points7 points ago

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Kensington

Expert

Mouse

[–]Rockiroad278 1 point2 points ago

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I had one of these as well. Made sniping in any game a cakewalk.

[–]TheRedTzar 1 point2 points ago

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Winner winner chicken dinner! Just was your hands before you get back to work.

[–]IamSparticles 11 points12 points ago

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I used to play Unreal Tournament with one of these and I would dominate. It was the first in their "marble" line which used optical sensors to track the ball directly, so there were no rollers to clean. But it did have these tiny ball bearings that supported the ball and they sometimes collected crud. One time I was trying to clean them and one popped out and disappeared into the carpet. That was a sad day.

[–]PrimaryLupine 3 points4 points ago

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So much this. Used to play Action Quake2 with the TrackMan Marble F/X, destroyed everyone with it. I would even bring it to the local LAN gaming place. The new TrackMan is a worthy successor to the Marble F/X. I recently switched back to using a trackball since playing WoW was giving me ulnar neuropathy.

[–]Mistawankaz 5 points6 points ago

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I was lucky as crap. My father got me quake 3 and a insanely expensive (at the time) Specialized version of the Microsoft Intellimouse with usb and 2 extra buttons on top of the forward and back buttons. His job got him several cool items. One was that Intellimouse.

But more on the subject of ball mouses. He also got me a "cleanless" mouse. I had used that from 98-2002 and it never needed to be cleaned. Big reason I would go back and fourth between the ball mouse and the intellimouse was depending on what pc I was using I need to use a PS2 to usb adapter for my intellimouse. One thing that I never did end up buying.

[–]vinfx 1 point2 points ago

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Sometimes it would suck using those mice in Quake. A metal rolling ball carries a lot of inertia so quick movements sometimes caused the ball to keep rotating after you did a quick wrist flick and you subconciously raised the side edge of the mouse a little.

[–]Necrix 3 points4 points ago

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If you had an Xacto-knife, you could easily slice off the built up grime on the rollers, yet somehow I always seemed to cut the shit out of my self.

[–]retrospects 2 points3 points ago

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How about all the Big Box stores that would take the balls out so people would not steal them. Then you had to use your finger on the inside of the mouse to control the pointer.

[–]Morteh 3 points4 points ago

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Are you sure the stores took them out and it wasn't just kids stealing them all and framing the stores?

[–]retrospects 3 points4 points ago

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At first it was people stealing them but then it was the stores to prevent the kids from stealing. You would ask to demo the computer and they would bring out a mouse ball. That or they started to superglue the doors on the bottom of the mouse.

[–]Morteh 2 points3 points ago

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"Hi! I'd like to demo this unit. Please hand me your balls."

[–]mikepixie 1 point2 points ago

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This was probably the number 1 cause of rage quitting during Quake matches in the 90's.

[–]bttws 1 point2 points ago

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Dirty mouse rollers and dailup was a deadly combination.

[–]just_puked_on_keyboa 1 point2 points ago

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Don't forget that mice were so expensive that you couldn't just throw them away and get a new one, either.

[–]meAndb 131 points132 points ago*

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Am I the only one that LOVED cleaning them?

Just getting in there with a pair of tweezers and trying to remove the grime in one unbroken piece was the most satisfying thing ever. If any of you still have balls, I'd be glad to clean them for you!

[–]CrayolaS7 24 points25 points ago

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Like using a pin to scrape the gunk out of the joints on an X360 controller.

[–]midir 11 points12 points ago

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I do exactly that with the gap between the top and bottom halves of my mouse. Satisfying, though not ball-cleaning satisfying.

[–]Matriss 7 points8 points ago

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I have to do that regularly as part of my job. We eventually ended up switching to an old toothbrush with a tiny bit of window cleaner on it, it makes the whole thing much faster.

It's not as satisfying when it's strangers' dead skin (or, occasionally, marijuana ash) as opposed to yours.

[–]The_Weirdest_Boner 4 points5 points ago

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ಠ_ಠ         

.  .        

  /

[–]Matriss 1 point2 points ago

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...what?

Oh. Oh.

Okay.

[–][deleted] 36 points37 points ago

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Feels good man.

[–]Feels_Goodman 5 points6 points ago

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What's up?

[–]Gustomaximus 2 points3 points ago

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+1. Now you can still clean the little pads on the bottom of the mouse and invert and shake your keyboard... but it's not quite the same.

[–]victavicta 7 points8 points ago

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Did you really +1 that?

[–]Gustomaximus 1 point2 points ago

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No, it was the other gustomaximus.

[–]theothergustomaximus 1 point2 points ago

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He's lying.

[–]victavicta 1 point2 points ago

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Not sure if funny or burn...

[–]Geo 1 point2 points ago

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The office I just started working in has one on the computer they put me on. I was terribly terribly dissapointed to find out it was not that dirty. Only one of the plastic pieces had one tiny bit of grime on it :(

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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firstworldproblems

[–]HarryLillis 1 point2 points ago

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Why speak in the past tense? Just get a trackball mouse. They're more efficient and comfortable than the traditional mouse and you do get to clean them every so often. Not quite so often as one had to clean the other ones because a stationary mouse with a top facing ball doesn't accumulate as much grime, but often enough to be fun.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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I would love to see the reactions of people who read your comment history, stumbling upon this comment without the proper context.

[–]mage2k 1 point2 points ago

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Sort of like when healing from a sunburn and you try to pull off your dead skin in the largest chunks possible?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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feels like a forensic doctor

[–]JavaLSU 34 points35 points ago

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I used to work in the IT department at my university. One day a kid stole all the balls out of a lab, we had to call dell and ask them if they sold mice balls. It took 5 tries before they didn't hang up on us.

[–]chka 18 points19 points ago

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Well... did they?

[–]Icanus 2 points3 points ago

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I REALLY want to know now!

[–]TheAdAgency 6 points7 points ago

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[–]cary_anne_says 1 point2 points ago

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Damnit, I want the domain name "mouseballz.com"

[–]cuteintern 1 point2 points ago

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I flinched when I opened that. Yikes!

[–]JavaLSU 1 point2 points ago

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Jesus Christ man! There's just some things you don't talk about in public!

[–]MadMageMC 5 points6 points ago

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This was a huge problem in the school district where I used to work. Some teachers would glue the hatches shut, so the mouse was never cleaned, only replaced. Some would keep a stash of extra balls and charge the kids for them when one came up missing. And one little old lady always got so embarrassed to report a missing mouse ball. She'd come to my desk and report that some child had neutered another mouse in the lab. Took me a minute the first time to get what she meant, then had a hell of a time trying to stifle the laughter. After a while, she finally loosened up about it a bit, and would just say those dang kids been neutering mice again.

I replaced them all with optical mice the first chance I got.

[–]bttws 1 point2 points ago

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My school glued our mice in our lab classes too I hated it because I couldn't clean them. Couldn't move it in a straight line to save my life. And they wouldn't replace them too. Imagane years worth of buildup.

[–]stillalone 1 point2 points ago

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Somebody did that in our highschool. Fortunately all the programs we used ran on dos and just required a keyboard. I think, eventually, we got opticals.

[–]maar-adona 25 points26 points ago

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I remember the satisfaction when I had "saved" up dirt in the mouse and just pulled it out in one big heap. Kind of the same feeling as I get when I remove lint from the dryer.

[–]illz569 9 points10 points ago

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There really needs to be a name for that. Like the satisfaction you get from picking at a scab, or peeling that gooey plastic off of sample credit cards you get in the mail.

[–]OriginalTrollPoster 41 points42 points ago

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Scabisfaction

[–]charlemagne_the_cat 5 points6 points ago

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Cut me, and then just peel me, until l get my, Scabisfaction.

[–]seagramsextradrygin 7 points8 points ago

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I always put that glue in my mouth immediately. Is it toxic? I sure hope not.

[–]hwbehrens 1 point2 points ago

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[–]sunkenOcean01 1 point2 points ago

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Are you alive? I'd guess not toxic.

[–]seagramsextradrygin 2 points3 points ago

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Still alive, though I have had a strange craving for human blood.

[–]sunkenOcean01 2 points3 points ago

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Yeah, that's normal.

[–]Brows 19 points20 points ago

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I still clean my balls.

[–]Corporate_Suit 6 points7 points ago

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Yep. One of these and a Model M. That's how I roll.

[–]Magnesus 22 points23 points ago

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I think, sir, that your mouse is posessed by an alien thing. Or she has cancer.

[–]Prawns 1 point2 points ago

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Any idea what your trackball model is? I'm using a logitech marble and it's ok, but could be better.

[–]Corporate_Suit 2 points3 points ago

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It's a Microsoft D67-00001

And holy crap, a quick google search shows how revered and PRICEY these suckers are now! I've had mine for about 5 years, paid like $50!

[–]Prawns 1 point2 points ago

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Shit the bed, there goes that plan!

[–]HarryLillis 1 point2 points ago

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Hey, yours has a scroll wheel. No fair. I just have the twenty dollar Logitech trackball mouse from Radioshack, and so I always contend with having no scroll wheel.

[–]fgben 1 point2 points ago

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roll

I see what you did there.

I have a few Model M5s myself -- one of them has a trackball built into the keyboard ( the M5-1 ). I use a Kensington Expert Mouse, tho -- I've got far better granular control with my fingertips than with my thumb.

[–]celestialwolf 1 point2 points ago

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I've always wondered how trackball mice work for gaming, but they're usually too pricey to just buy and find out. Do you have any experience with that? Should I just stick with a regular mouse for FPS gaming?

[–]theMETALHEAD 48 points49 points ago

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Is it weird that my mom cleaned my balls?

[–]Gustomaximus 22 points23 points ago

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It is if she used a vacuum cleaner.

[–]MadMageMC 11 points12 points ago

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With a scrubbing attachment...

[–]Gustomaximus 12 points13 points ago

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and insisted on doing hers first.

[–]unwarrantedadvice 12 points13 points ago

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Ah, memories

[–]scumbaggf 6 points7 points ago

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Always ...

[–]mc66a 3 points4 points ago

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Having the weirdest boner, again.

[–]Invisibliss 14 points15 points ago

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I liked taking the ball out just to play with it

[–]TravnokElBlanco 11 points12 points ago

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Yes, I liked playing with my balls and whoever else's balls I could get ahold to. It was ever so satisfying.

[–]JereHakala 7 points8 points ago

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I used to clean all of the mouses in the library where I went to play Runescape pretty much every day in like 2002.

[–]xKJx25 7 points8 points ago

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I remember when I first accidentally popped that out as a kid. I got scared, thought it got broken xP

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points ago

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Oh man, I remember when I popped my first ball. I was horrified!

[–]reedly 4 points5 points ago

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Every time I used a computer I would clean the balls - whether it was mine or not! It was very satisfying. (Yet, kind of gross.)

[–]unwarrantedadvice 7 points8 points ago

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okay- this one I think is actually referring to testicles.

[–]reedly 1 point2 points ago

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Ha! Nope - still talking mouse balls here. Sorry for the confusion. (But, have an upvote anyways!)

[–]impurethoughts 2 points3 points ago

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I still have an old-school mouse. I love cleaning it!

[–]GetDead 4 points5 points ago

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[–]layam 2 points3 points ago

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I only cleaned them when gliding it around on the desk stopped causing any reaction.

[–]Shin0be 1 point2 points ago

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Good, those things sucked...

[–]Pootytang001 1 point2 points ago

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After just reading the title, I was hoping for a revolutionary new invention.

[–]frommycell 1 point2 points ago

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There were people back then that didn't know what it's like to clean their balls.

[–]zmsz 1 point2 points ago

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The 90' were simpler times. One universal rule for success in fps-gaming and in life:

Make damn well sure your balls are clean.

[–]peeted 1 point2 points ago

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I aim to make sure that as many kids as possible know what it is like to have to clean my balls....

[–]jsdratm 1 point2 points ago

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False. Trackballs still require the occasional ball cleansing. I <3 trackball mice.

[–]thedeejus 1 point2 points ago

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my AV teacher used to ask me to stay late after school and clean his balls. I'd just sit there in his lab for hours

[–]osianjones25 1 point2 points ago

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I still use a mouse like that.. my ball is very clean

[–]itsdeuce 1 point2 points ago

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Nice try, Jerry Sandusky.

[–]wbeavis 1 point2 points ago

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Curtis Mouse Cleaning kit was one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas.

[–]BartAfterDark 3 points4 points ago

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Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1973

[–]sxeros 1 point2 points ago

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unless they went to penn state...

[–]Hypersapien 1 point2 points ago

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FW:FW:FW:FW:FW: Classic

MEMO

Re: Replacement of Mouse Balls.

If a mouse fails to operate or should it perform erratically, it may need a ball replacement. Mouse balls are now available as FRU (Field Replacement Units). Because of the delicate nature of this procedure, replacement of mouse balls should only be attempted by properly trained personnel.

Before proceeding, determine the type of mouse balls by examining the underside of the mouse. Domestic balls will be larger and harder than foreign balls. Ball removal procedures differ depending upon the manufacturer of the mouse. Foreign balls can be replaced using the pop off method. Domestic balls are replaced by using the twist off method. Mouse balls are not usually static sensitive. However, excessive handling can result in sudden discharge. Upon completion of ball replacement, the mouse may be used immediately.

It is recommended that each person have a pair of spare balls for maintaining optimum customer satisfaction. Any customer missing his balls should contact the local personnel in charge of removing and replacing these necessary items.

Please keep in mind that a customer without properly working balls is an unhappy customer.

[–]oldsillybear 1 point2 points ago

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THANK YOU. This was the first thing I thought of. Snopes even covered it. "One of the oldest bits of internet jokelore," recorded as far back as 1989.

[–]Hypersapien 1 point2 points ago

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Where do you think I copy&pasted it from?

[–]oldsillybear 1 point2 points ago

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I figured it was from your inbox... ;)

[–]neyxport 1 point2 points ago

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what about using a trackball ;D

[–]holysocks 1 point2 points ago

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What are you talking about? Us cool kids use track balls which are ergonomically better. Also bigger balls than you.

[–]lieronet 1 point2 points ago

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GOOD

[–]unwarrantedadvice 1 point2 points ago

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I'm such an ass.

The first time I saw a laser mouse... I was like, "What is this, some kind of old school mouse from the 80's?"

My friend responded, "It is a fucking laser dude. Lasers are the future. This mouse right here... this is from the future."

[–]Amusing_goat 1 point2 points ago

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I once described the buildup that occurs on the ball and rollers as 'mouse smegma'.

I really wish I hadn't. Can't unthink it.

[–]Zachel 1 point2 points ago

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I disagree! I got a trackball!

[–]sprinklemuffin 1 point2 points ago

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[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Back when you blew into things to make them work.

[–]eggo 1 point2 points ago

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For those who haven't seen it yet: IBM Memo on Mouse Balls

[–]Amitai45 1 point2 points ago

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We were supposed to clean them?

[–]madindian 1 point2 points ago

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At office, in a conference room, i once cleaned the ball, the 3 plastic rollers inside, collected all the junk in a heap and wrote a small chit of paper saying "Mouse shit" and left it there. It was the talk of the water cooler for a while.

For once, it was not me who was mad.

[–]VoX_PopuIi 1 point2 points ago

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I was 12 when I had this, and it was so fucking annoying.

[–]JekyllVsHyde 1 point2 points ago

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In high school, our computer lab had these and we always ended up taking them out and whipping them at each other. Good times...

[–]awesomealex 1 point2 points ago

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The biggest troll of my childhood was to take out the ball and wait for someone to not understand why the cursor wasn't moving when they went on the computer.

[–]shebillah 1 point2 points ago

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The best thing about trackball mice is that when they broke, you had a cool ball to play with.

[–]gnomishtanks 0 points1 point ago

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I had to do this all the time playing Diablo 2. And my mouse pad turned brown.

[–]Neurocistance 0 points1 point ago

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I still use one of these where I work. All the computers come with new-in-the-box ball mice. Using them is so much worse than I remember it being.

[–]mrbucket777 0 points1 point ago

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Somehow the computers that I use for my cisco ccna class which aren't too horrible, some few year old dells with core 2 duo have ball mice still, wtf.

[–]BobLeBuilDerp 0 points1 point ago

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Mine actually never got too much dust or anything in it. I just spilt orange soda and it got a sticky icky and shit, and it collected every single last part of dust and dirt imaginable

[–]n0ne0ther 0 points1 point ago

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Also removing these mice balls back in school.

22 computers in class, 0 with balls in the mice. Sit back and laugh.

[–]MadMageMC 3 points4 points ago

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So YOU'RE the little bastard I hated so much! I gotcha now, kid!

(No... no I really don't. But it was folks like you what made us all buy opticals for our labs.)

[–]space_paradox 0 points1 point ago

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Thank god those are athing of the past. Same goes for mousepads.

[–]Gustomaximus 0 points1 point ago

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I think my DIY skills are lacking as I used to feel quite the engineer pulling the mouse ball out to clean it.

[–]edu723 0 points1 point ago

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At a job a super nice lady told me "you might have been to young to know this, but years ago computer mice actually ran on balls." I laughed and thanked her for thinking I was 12. (Mind you, I'm 22)

[–]ThrillerVanilla 0 points1 point ago

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I'm posting this while in work and using a rollerball mouse.

Feels bad man :/

[–]mikepixie 0 points1 point ago

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They will also never know what it feels like to have one thrown at them.

[–]bugeyedbaggins 0 points1 point ago

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Or the EXTREME satisfaction of peeling the yuck off the rollers on the top and left inside.

[–]derschfell 0 points1 point ago

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i remember having this sweet alien looking trackball mouse and the trackball was glowing and it was dark red with a carbon fiber hex texture. mmm orgasm

[–]SolemnPutty 0 points1 point ago

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I LOVE playing with balls!

[–]1n2n3n4JAZZHANDS 0 points1 point ago

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I am fairly certain that the hipster kids of 2026 will become quite adept at cleaning their mice balls as they surf the intra-galactic super web on their circa 1998 laptops in full public view at their local space-coffee shops.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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I still remember when I was young and I started to figure out why our mice stopped working after fiddling with a "broken" one and finding you could take the ball out.

No matter how many times I explained this revelation of cleaning the gunk out I would still get called upon to "fix the mouse" all the time after that point. Thank god for the invention of optical mice soon after.

[–]SR71-boss 0 points1 point ago

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We used to take them out and throw them at each other. Oh the good days.

[–]Icanus 0 points1 point ago

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Everytime I had to fix some friends computer, first thing on the agenda was cleaning the mouse and keyboard and bitch about it for 10 minutes.
That actually solved half the problems xD

[–]Phoequinox 0 points1 point ago

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I used to like the feeling of holding my balls. Very weighty and rubbery.

[–]NighthawkFoo 0 points1 point ago

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The assistant principal of our high school threatened to suspend anyone who was caught stealing mouse balls. It got so bad that half the mice in the lab were unusable due to castration.

[–]MadMageMC 1 point2 points ago

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This is why I replaced all the mice at the high school where I worked with opticals. I was tired of trying to prevent students from stealing the balls. I actually had a line item in my budget each year just for replacement mouse balls. It was ludicrous.

[–]indeed_something 1 point2 points ago

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I had a high school programming class where someone stole a bunch of mouse balls. The teacher told us that we weren't going to be able to use the computer that day. Fortunately, I knew the keyboard shortcut in MacOS to use the numeric keypad as a mouse substitute. Once I told the teacher the shortcut, he relented and we got to program that day.

Eventually, the teacher got replacements. From then on, all mice were collected at the end of class to prevent the problem from occurring again.

[–]emocol 0 points1 point ago

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Kids today will never know what it's like to have to clean your ball

unless there's some other ball I'm unaware of?

[–]Arkaniani 0 points1 point ago

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Somehow I found it very satisfying to clean those balls.

[–]cronaldo73 0 points1 point ago

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i love cleaning balls

[–]krackpot 0 points1 point ago

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LAWL, I thought you meant, NAH nevermind !

[–]epsilona01 0 points1 point ago

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Re:Re:Fw:Re:Fw

Yeah, it's one of the oldest ones around, I first saw it floating around on BBS's eons ago.

[–]Macphisto45 0 points1 point ago

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Up until I bought my own computer, there was nothing more satisfying then cleaning my balls. Seriously, pulling the gunk out was almost orgasmic!

[–]Superdude01 0 points1 point ago

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Oicwatudidthar.

[–]sickcents 0 points1 point ago

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Working in IT, it surprises me that users would not expect that the stiffness they feel when sliding the mouse around could be due to them dragging mouse poop along.

[–]his_place 0 points1 point ago

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Why didn't other companies give you a cleaning tool like the Super Nintendo mouse did?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7524204@N07/1605985798/lightbox/ The little white thing on the SNES mouse pad in the picture

[–]mc66a 0 points1 point ago

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I'll never forget the day my friend stole the 35 balls from the class, thought it would be smart to stick them in his pockets, only to have the principal come in, make us stand up, and point at him saying: "Do you know anything about the balls that were stolen?"...

[–]raptor1770 0 points1 point ago

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[–]Dannyden 0 points1 point ago

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I am 16 and I've done this, am I old already!?

[–]Foster198 0 points1 point ago

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I never really cleaned my balls exactly, but I can clean the rollers with a pencil eraser like a champ!

[–]BritishHobo 0 points1 point ago

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Couple of kids in my high school stole a bunch of those from the school computers and started selling them to other kids as bouncy balls.

[–]ctm617 1 point2 points ago

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mouse balls are heavy! they leave a nice welt if you get pegged with one.

[–]Ecchii 0 points1 point ago

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Im just 17... but i remember when i got my first PC.. Dell dimension 2300.. it had a roller mouse that thing broke withing weeks.. i had to use tape on the sides of the balls to make it stick....

[–]scottperezfox 0 points1 point ago

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Saw that coming.

[–]GrooGrux 0 points1 point ago

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I can not tell you many times I have cleaned someone else's balls because they had no idea why their mouse was sucky.

[–]Rad2 0 points1 point ago

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as a user of a trackball, I find subtle joy in cleaning my ball. Definitely Me Gusta