Why does my computer get dusty faster than my bookshelves?

It’s not just an illusion, most —electronic equipment does indeed get dusty faster than other household furnishings.

Dust gets drawn to electric and magnetic fields given off by TVs, stereos, and computers. In fact, it’s one of the reasons so many computers are beige.

Apple Computers ran tests when designing the first Macintosh in 1977 and determined that beige was the best color for hiding dust, and other computer makers followed suit.

These days, many electronics and computers come in black. Black is a classic color but it shows dust really really well. Clean freaks might be wishing for the days of silver electronics to come back.

Silver came back in vogue for a while a little after the year 2000 but most companies have gone back to black. Our guess is the next big color will be purple.