April Fools mouse prank

 by jamesblonde
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Ever wanted to piss off a teacher, parent, or anyone else who is computer illiterate. Well now you can!!

By the way this is not only my first instructable but my entry into the April fools Contest.
 
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Step 1: What to do

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Most modern day mice are use a laser to detect movement. All you have to do is take a sticky note or piece of tape, and then cover the laser. It's that simple

If the mouse is an old school ball mouse, turn it upside down, and the ball will drop to the inside of the mouse. Then just cover the hole with a piece of tape.

Make sure to right down April Fools on the tape or whatever!
ElvenChild says: Apr 1, 2011. 6:19 AM
you cant do this to a laptop or an apple magic trackpad
acabrera7 in reply to ElvenChildFeb 7, 2013. 10:14 AM
obviously.
adi angelo says: Jun 14, 2011. 5:42 PM
boring old school trick.............5 years ago......nothing new here!!!
acabrera7 in reply to adi angeloFeb 7, 2013. 10:13 AM
read the comments! there's a bit of variation to this instructable!
platniumdr says: Mar 31, 2011. 11:51 PM
This isn't nearly devious enough. Everyone expects tape or something similiar on the bottom. But to really drive someone insane you:
1) place a clear piece of tape over the sensor opening
2) trim it with a razor so it looks completely organic
3) poke the tape with a needle once
This causes enough laser light to reflect so that the mouse moves, but it's incredibly jerky and unusable. They'll be cussing, unplugging, replacing batteries, restarting, etc etc, and every time they look at the bottom of the mouse they can't tell it's been tampered with. I've done this numerous times with outstanding success :D. Enjoy!
Sparkyrob in reply to platniumdrAug 25, 2011. 9:24 AM
I just tried it. Aparently that does not work om my new logitech mouse, the laser sees right through it.
acabrera7 in reply to SparkyrobFeb 7, 2013. 10:11 AM
ur mouse is probably one of those Performance Laser ones. platiumdr was probably talking about the  ones with the light. not the ones that uses no light
qmounts in reply to platniumdrMay 5, 2011. 6:52 PM
this is the better way, i did this to two of my teachers on april fools day and they both turned the mouse over and noticed it :(
but also i looped a peice of tape so it was sticky all around and put it on the hearing end of his phone and when he picked up his phone with another tacher on the line he said what the f*** under his breath :DD!!!!
grundisimo in reply to qmountsAug 5, 2011. 6:50 AM
Or, if you're super dedicated you could steal their mouse and unsolder the Data connections from the inside. Keep the power connection so the laser still turns on though.
junkhacker in reply to grundisimoMar 29, 2012. 4:27 PM
it's actually much easier then that. If you put a strip of paper in the mouse's usb plug so that it covers the middle two pins, most mice will light up but not do anything. I've done that before.
survivorwolf says: Jun 7, 2012. 10:58 PM
Another great Prank is take a wireless usb mouse and plug it into the victims computer and when ever they try to use their mouse use yours to interfere click random things open or close thing down or if you do it to a teacher that uses power point to teach advance the slide show randomly
berky93 says: Mar 31, 2009. 8:40 PM
won't work with a cordless mouse - usually your first response is to check that it has battery by looking at the bottom to see if the light is on. in fact. I know many people who do that with corded mice too, to check for obstructions like this...
modaawesome in reply to berky93Mar 24, 2012. 9:09 PM
just un plug it
inventordude14 in reply to berky93Jan 31, 2010. 4:17 PM
    try using a very tiny piece of clear tape to cover the mouse one of the nerds at my school totally freaked out and thought his computer froze it was hillarius
Madrias357 in reply to berky93Feb 14, 2013. 10:37 AM
Cordless mouse: best prank is to put a piece of paper blocking a battery, making sure to leave enough to write "April Fools" on it. Corded mouse: Paper ball in the optical with a tag sticking out, again write "April Fools" on it. Old corded mouse: take the ball out, place in tagged note with April Fools and instructions to hide the ball. Hide the ball in an easy place to find it, such as an empty coffee cup or in the pen-holder.
Mr911S says: Mar 11, 2012. 4:36 PM
I have a wireless mouse so need to turn it over to turn on so that trick would not work on me and I doubt that you could put clear tape or any thing over the lens with out being noticed.
modaawesome in reply to Mr911SMar 24, 2012. 9:07 PM
if it is usb unplug it and see if anyone notices
P.I. Kitty says: Aug 19, 2011. 10:03 AM
i just did this to myself
graphak says: Apr 5, 2011. 7:51 PM
my coworker did this to me and I looked twice at the bottom, not noticing the tape and only looking to see that the laser was on. nice one.
chamster says: Oct 1, 2010. 7:17 PM
I SO have to play this on my little bros! they'll freak out!
mikeyw8 in reply to chamsterFeb 21, 2011. 6:34 AM
lol my lil bro did XD
allthegoodnamesaretaken says: Mar 22, 2010. 4:33 PM
 this is a good one! I don't like pranks that are destructive, and the best ones are when they prank themselves. well done!
Jay Spannerz says: Mar 22, 2010. 12:57 AM
 I am so going to try this XD Thanks so much!!
codebuster says: Apr 24, 2009. 5:24 AM
Ha This is a cool idea ! thanks man ;-D
freerunnin1 says: Apr 14, 2009. 12:54 AM
in IT i always poke a bit of paper in his mouse and hes always wondering why its not working... he gives me a dead arm 4 doing it :P
MegaMaker says: Apr 5, 2009. 5:47 AM
I think I have seen 7 different Instructables for putting a piece of tape on the mouse of a computer. Who wouldn't look at the bottom of the mouse?
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