Early computer mice utilized a heavy rubber ball that would inevitably collect an absolutely disgusting amount of dust, hair, and dead skin cells from your desk.

A closer look

Early computer mice utilized a heavy rubber ball that would inevitably collect an absolutely disgusting amount of dust, hair, and dead skin cells from your desk. Periodically, your mouse cursor would stutter and freeze, forcing you to flip the device over, unscrew the plastic ring, and surgically extract a dense halo of mysterious desk grime from the internal rollers. It was an involuntary hygiene check that forced every single computer user to confront the biological reality of their filthy workstation. The optical mouse freed us from this incredibly gross maintenance ritual by using lasers to track movement instead of a sticky physical sphere. We no longer have to excavate lint from our peripherals, leaving us blissfully ignorant of how truly unhygienic our ergonomic mousepads have actually become over the years