Simply Electrifying Power!

Trying to designate every day of the year to 'something' must be a difficult task. A year's span of time numbers only 365 days (366 with Leap Year) so it is only natural the 'somethings' to celebrate would be multiples of this number. That would explain why we have funny days and wacky days aside from those that are truly serious. Today is one I would not have thought about, yet, it is something we would not want to live without, yet there was a time when life was without... Reminds me of the movie, Batteries NOT Included! That's right. 

February 18 is...

National Battery Day

 [An 'unofficial' national holiday]

Where would we be without the humble battery? Take a few moments to ponder how many items in the average household require batteries. Then, think outside the house. Or, maybe simply consider what the world would be like had the invention of batteries never materialized. 

There would be NO...

• Remote controls
• Portable radios, CD players
• Calculators
• iPods, iPads
• Laptop computers
• Wireless mouse & keyboard
• Cell phones
• Portable phones
• Cameras
• Electric shavers
• Electric toothbrushes
• Power tools
• Flashlights
• GPS navigational systems
• Home alarm systems
• Golf carts
• Hand-held games
• Air freshers
• Torches
• Clocks
• Watches
• Kid toys
• Massagers
• Car fob
• Riding lawn mowers
• AUTOMOBILES

This is just a short list of which so much more could be added. We are spoiled today because the battery has become a COMMON household item, especially when it comes to personal items and the automobile. Without the battery, we would still be using a hand crank to start the car! We would be dragging around long extension cords just to listen to the boom box at the beach, that is if we could find an electrical outlet available.

Do you know who was responsible for this ingenious invention - the history of the battery?

Electrodes touch a frog, and the legs
twitch into the upward position.
Source: en.wikipedia.org

Benjamin Franklin came out with the term 'battery'. Luigi Galvani discovered something he named 'animal electricity'. He connected two different metals in series with a frog's leg and to one another. Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist, realized that the frog's leg served as both a conductor of electricity and as a detector of electricity. This lead to the first battery.

A voltaic pile, the first chemical battery
Source: en.wikipedia.org

THE FIRST BATTERY: 

It is said that Alessandro Volta invented the voltaic pile in 1800 thereby producing the first practical method of generating electricity. “The voltaic pile was made by alternating plates of zinc and copper that had pieces of cardboard soaked in brine between them. The metallic conducting arc was used to carry the electricity over a greater distance. Alessandro Volta’s voltaic pile was the modern world’s first “wet cell battery”.  This first “battery” produced a reliable, steady current of electricity.”

Why celebrate?

People get a charge out of National Battery Day. We are absolutely energized about the many uses and applications. It's an opportunity to celebrate a vital invention since batteries are used everywhere, from the battlefield to smoke alarms to headsets. They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and power capacity, to fit a wide array of needs. Battery Day is all about celebrating and recognizing just how important the simple battery is to our way of life.

 Out of batteries? Check out the Lemon Battery!

Sorry! It won't work for everything!

How many places/ways do you use batteries not on the list?

Batteries to my PC, laptop, TV, DVD, iPad & my new surround sound music system all died. Then, I discovered this was also true of my iPhone battery. To top it off, a blizzard was brewing outside, so I couldn't go to the nearby store for new batteries. I went into the kitchen to make coffee and remembered I had recently bought the latest battery operated coffee maker.

Moral to this story…

ALWAYS have spare batteries on hand!

NEXT on the Calendar: Temporarily Insane