Ultimate 'itch-scratcher': The 18-button mouse

I'm having a very, very, very hard time believing this is not a joke. Apparently there's a group of people developing an 18-button mouse for use not just with OpenOffice but a bevy of other applications both free and proprietary.

And not only are there 18 buttons, there's also a joystick (seen at right).

Adding to any supposed authenticity of this project, it has a Web site and a development blog.

It's said all the time that many a free, open-source software project is borne out of a developer "scratching an itch," and building something that he or she really wants to use themselves. And if anybody else finds it useful, that's great, too.

This mouse — this 18-button, single-joystick mouse — looks like the itch-scratcher to scratch all itches. I'm surprised an actual scratching device doesn't burst forth from the plastic casing and offer to scratch a real itch on one's back, front, or wherever itches crop up.

I still really don't believe this is real. It just can't be.