After a long and tough day, it’s nice to just lounge around on the couch with some snacks and watch TV. That was me last week until disaster struck: my remote control batteries died. One cannot peruse the fine selection of shows and movies on Netflix without a functioning remote control. So I peeled myself off the couch and went looking for some batteries. Fortunately, I keep a box full of batteries in my closet. But for reasons that I really can’t explain, all of the batteries in the box are loose and a good portion of them are dead. Seriously. Don’t ask me why it’s such a horrible mess. Consequently, I had to spend the next several minutes switching out batteries and testing them until I found ones that actually worked. Perhaps I should get a battery tester… or maybe not?
Apparently, there’s a very cool and very easy way to test how far along your batteries are from kicking the bucket. And the best part is that you don’t need to buy anything, nor do you need any type of fancy schmancy equipment. For this trick, all you’re going to need is a flat surface and gravity.
All you need to do is hold your battery upright a couple of inches above the flat surface and drop it. If the battery is fully charged, it should make a nice thud sound and remain standing upright. If the battery is dead, it will bounce and fall over. Keep in mind that this only works with alkaline batteries so don’t go around dropping your Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Why does it work? Science! When alkaline batteries are discharged, it produces Hydrogen gas, creating pressure and making it easier for the battery to bounce and fall over.
Check out the video for a full demonstration and don’t forget to share this with your friends!
