Apple added the feature of sticky menus because many of our customers requested it. It improves the human factors of using the Mac OS because you do not have to hold the mouse button down so much. We have performed extensive useability testing and carefully tried to get the timing right.
You can modify the sticky menus feature by doing one of the following:
1. Click again to make the sticky menu go away.
2. If you press the mouse button down, hold it on a menu, and then release the mouse button, the menu is no longer sticky. The time for a sticky menu to appear is based on the double-click speed of the mouse.
If the double-click speed is slow, then Mac OS waits longer to determine if the menu remains active. Changing the double-click speed in the Mouse control panel to a faster setting will shorten that delay. Thus, you can effectively "turn off" sticky menus by making the double-click speed the fastest setting and waiting approximately a half a second or longer before releasing the mouse button.