Bear Cub,
ME only displays the most recently used progs/items etc., and then only a few (it's supposed to be the response to public demand!)
Virtually everything that appears on the drop-downs/menu is a shortcut, so can be deleted without problem.
Try thinning them out - right click the taskbar, select properties, then advanced.
Sounds to me like you may have endless progs installed, and all have left their mark in the menus.
Hope it helps.
Cheers
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Me, sweat? I'm that cool, it's condensation.