When the mouse idea was new, they had plain polished steel balls.

Back in those long-forgotten days, IBM reps made periodic house calls to businesses, and a routine part of the service was cleaning the mouse ball. The cleaning agent used was alcohol, and it was soon noticed that the more times a ball had been cleaned the more quickly it needed cleaning.

This result was called "drunken mouse syndrome."

The house call reps were soon expected to carry "spare balls" on service calls so the balls could be replaced as necessary.

IBM produced an official placard, with orders that it be placed immediately adjacent to the exit at every IBM office where a service rep had a home base, to remind them as they left for calls:

        HAVE YOU GOT YOUR BALLS?

The rubber coated balls alleviated the problem somewhat, and of course not even physicians have made house calls for some time, but the placards are considered "collectibles" by some.

My recent "wired" mouse was extremely difficult to find, as in my local market nobody stocks anything that isn't "wireless." Reception and interference of anything wireless in my area is poor, and there are so many neighbors who instantly try to piggyback on any wireless signal that turns on, that I don't use anything wireless. Wired devices other than USB, and anything with balls both are nonexistent in my market.

Wireless mouses and keyboards generally use an infrared signal like your TV remote, so they're not as subject to the interference, but seem to require inconveniently frequent battery replacements; and it's sometimes difficult to tell if the battery or something else is the problem when one quits. I'm still healthy enough to drag the wire around, although I may be fading a little in that respect.

John