How to avoid keyboard muck

Any overworked cubicle dweller knows the joy of eating breakfast, lunch and dinner in front of his or her beloved computer. But it doesn't take many at-the-desk dining experiences to realize the dangers of such a habit. Keyboards and mice quickly turn into veritable lab experiments, with a bizarre combination of cream cheese, salad dressing and poppyseeds making keys stick (not to mention just plain gross).

TechRepublic's Becky Roberts published today a list of foods that should never be eaten over your keyboard. Topping the list are rice, saucy pasta and sunflower seeds, which have a strong predisposition toward burrowing. For our part, we'd like to add seed-covered bagels and the ever-crumbly cracker and muffin to the list. And let's not even discuss what happens when a pint of beer gets spilled on your system after an impromptu office get-together.