DS Daily: Oral fixation

by Alisha Karabinus { Mar 31st 2008 at 9:00AM }

While spending a little time with Professor Layton and the Curious Village recently, I discovered something -- when not actively using my stylus, it seems I have a habit of putting it in my mouth. I don't really chew on it, but rather, just hold it there with my lips. The stops and starts in Layton meant that I was often not doing much with it, but just studying the screen, which gave me the opportunity to realize where I was putting my poor stylus. Here's hoping I'm not alone in this weird habit ... am I?

Tags: oral-fixation, stylus

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tweek @ Mar 31st 2008 9:17AM

Nope you are not alone in this, I too keep mine in my mouth when I am not using it.

Chris @ Mar 31st 2008 3:21PM

I've caught myself holding the stylus in my lips like you explained and also chewing on it from time to time. Thankfully every time the tip ends up in my mouth instead of the big end I realize what I am doing before I ruin it.

B-Bob @ Mar 31st 2008 9:18AM

Sometimes I chew on my Stylus.

Clark @ Mar 31st 2008 9:22AM

Mines usually in my mouth when its not being used. Always lose it otherwise..

Nigeria: Cody ChesnuTT Defense Force @ Mar 31st 2008 9:24AM

I do this as well. Mainly while playing playing puzzle games - Layton, Puzzle Quest, those Yoshi puzzles on Tetris. Sometimes while playing Phoenix Wright I twiddle the stylus between my fingers like a cheerleader's baton.

My little brother chewed up my stylus for my original DS so I've tried to keep him off the Lite. Are replacement styluses expensive? I haven't checked.

Wiiboy @ Mar 31st 2008 9:38AM

You can get 2 or 3 for like $3-5. They are pretty cheap.

deadlylife @ Mar 31st 2008 9:35AM

Not at all. I tend to chew lightly on my stylus while not using it.

Wiiboy @ Mar 31st 2008 9:35AM

I totally do this all the time! That's so cool. I think the reason is that with my first stylus, I got in the habit of pulling it out and putting it back in a whole bunch, and then it wore the stylus down and it kept falling out and then I lost it. I have been trying not to put in/pull out as much, so if I have a game that requires a lot of stylus use, I will leave it in my mouth.

tarajo @ Mar 31st 2008 10:15AM

HAHA, my daughter and i were just discussing this the other day, i would find that my stylus is hanging out of my mouth like a gangsters cigarette and i would be using my fingers to interact with the touch screen.

nil @ Mar 31st 2008 10:21AM

I sometimes hold the stylus in my mouth and pretend it's a cigarette. My wife finds it rather funny. Then again, she laughs at me frequently.

foosnark @ Mar 31st 2008 10:31AM

Guilty as charged!

Roto13 @ Mar 31st 2008 10:40AM

... I just put mine in the slot in the back when I'm not using it. Not all the way so it clicks, though.

Maya @ Mar 31st 2008 10:59AM

Same here, i hold it with my lips, without chewing it.

My daughter instead, ruined my original stylus with her teeth XD so I had to buy new ones... now when she asks to play on my DS I give her a q-tip :D this prevents both scratches and chewing marks :D

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 31st 2008 12:39PM

Only on few occasions when I do it purposefully. All other times I quickly sheath it back into the DS's holder.

Halamar @ Mar 31st 2008 12:42PM

Well, I am the same way. I hold it in my mouth all the time. I think my co-workers think I'm a little weird for doing it, but oh well. As Roto13 stated, I sometimes also put it back into the slot, but I put it in wrong so it doesn't go all the way in.

I don't destroy them from chewing, but I have problems with losing mine. After some usage, they seem to like to fall out of the carrying slot.

Author X @ Mar 31st 2008 1:17PM

Well, I actually do this with my favorite pencil (it's mechanical pencil, with the clip broken, leaving a little tab that I just seem to unconsciously want to put in my mouth), but not my stylus. Probably because I use my various custom styluses more than the regular one, and one of my favorites is the Naruto stylus - which is on a handy little springy strap, so when I'm not using it, I just let it hang loose.

GumbyX84 @ Mar 31st 2008 1:21PM

I do the same thing, so you aren't alone. Thought I was weird, but I guess a lot of people do it.

Prettz @ Mar 31st 2008 1:24PM

I actually hold mine my index finger and middle finger (as one would a pencil). I'm left-handed, so it's the hand I use the d-pad with.
As a left-handed DS player, I've discovered that with some games, I am at a disadvantage, however.

Igmolicious @ Mar 31st 2008 1:53PM

Yeah, I do this all the time -- sometimes even while my DS is turned off. Then again, I'm also a chronic pen-chewer.

Markez @ Mar 31st 2008 1:54PM

Funny, I just snapped the end of mine chewing it while playing Professor Layton. When my girlfriend was playing it the other day she thought she did it cuz she does the same thing.

divinenanny @ Mar 31st 2008 2:21PM

I do it too to the original stylus, but I also use a Hori-pen for stylus intensive games, and that one I don't chew. I just saw today here in Holland a webshop (Bol I believe) sells 50 (yes, fifty) stylii for 20 euros, that's about $15 I guess :D

iSi @ Mar 31st 2008 2:39PM

actually 20 euros are 31,6$...

i�m usually smoking while playing professor layton, so it can happen that i try to suck on my stylus when all cigs are gone.

ever tryed playing with a lollipop - great combination for ds-gaming-habits

libraryman85 @ Mar 31st 2008 2:35PM

Yeah, I actually have the stylus in my mouth a little deeper than just the little head on the end so that it can be secured behind my teeth. I don't worry too much because I have two extras ^.^

Chris @ Mar 31st 2008 3:22PM

Two extra teeth?

Aluvendale @ Mar 31st 2008 3:27PM

Definitely not alone!

Metal_Link @ Mar 31st 2008 3:35PM

Yep, I do that too. :D

Pizza Pasta @ Mar 31st 2008 4:14PM

I sometimes eat mine but they are hard to digest so I am trying to stop. HAR HAR!

Haplo @ Mar 31st 2008 4:16PM

I can't really say that I have done it too much. Although, most of the games that I play use the stylus a lot. Maybe a little with Picross

Roslyn @ Mar 31st 2008 4:48PM

You're definitely not alone in holding your stylus in your mouth. I typically chew on it when I'm not using it - it's a hell of a lot easier than having to put it back in the well and take it out again.

Bobby Gonzales @ Mar 31st 2008 4:52PM

Wow...I just realized I do the same thing, not chewing it, just touching my lips. The tip is shiny, so it's just way too tempting.

Matdredalia @ Mar 31st 2008 5:59PM

Doesn't everyone do this? *blinks*

Being a knitter, my mouth is trained as my third hand, so that *could* explain it, except for the fact that I did this with my DS before I started knitting!

So, I guess it's just a convenient place to hold it while we're using our hands for the D-Pad or A B X & Y buttons?

thesandworm @ Mar 31st 2008 7:05PM

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE

alberthegreat @ Mar 31st 2008 7:31PM

haha, WHENEVER im not using the stylus, its always in my lips. I, unlike most people thought, have it sideways, so the tips are at the 2 ends of my lips.

Robert Baldwin @ Mar 31st 2008 8:10PM

No chewing but I will occasionally hold it in my mouth.

moominsean @ Mar 31st 2008 9:33PM

i tuck mine underneath my...well, nevermind.

Dr_W@dsy @ Mar 31st 2008 11:56PM

Mine practically lives in my mouth when I'm playing. Have to replace/clean it every now and then, mostly 'cos I'm certain I'm eventually going to catch something virulent and wipe out my entire family due to an unexpectedly dirty stylus.

Alisha Karabinus @ Apr 1st 2008 12:16AM

I feel SO much better after reading the comments. Maybe we should start Stylus Mouth-Holders/Chewers Anonymous or something. Apparently, there's a huge subset of us, just sitting around with styli hanging from our mouths like cigarettes.

JC Fletcher @ Apr 1st 2008 12:36AM

I put it behind my ear like an unlit cigarette, rather than in my mouth like a lit cigarette.

bb @ Apr 1st 2008 10:44PM

omg i do this too!!!!
i think mine has teeth marks... =(

Odinschild @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:51PM

I hold mine in my mouth, my wife actually chews hers. I've had to replace a couple already.....

89thIncarnation @ Apr 3rd 2008 7:41AM

yeah i do this too...

one tip if your stylus sits too loosely in the case:
try carefully bending the partly loose plastic piece at the thick end of the stylus so that the little dot is a little higher. after that the stylus will never fall out again!