Some things are not useless; you just haven't encountered the right one.

I've always thought that mouse pads are pretty pointless, except when using a scroll wheel mouse back in the day. Over the past ten years or so, optical mice haven't needed mouse pads at all.
Today, I received a fan gift from a foreign country—a mouse pad. Before opening it, I thought, why would someone send a mouse pad from so far away for no reason? After opening it, I really love this mouse pad.
The feel and smoothness of this mouse pad are completely different; you can tell the difference the moment you slide the mouse. It's a bit like someone who has always drunk plain water suddenly tasting an ice-cold cola.