Battery-Free

[MaryN]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I remember a time when watches were wound up by hand (no battery included); eggs were timed with little gadgets that poured sand from top to bottom; alarm clocks were set by hand and wound up; and even sundials had their uses.

In this technology-rich age, I was asking myself what happens if the power goes out. How long do batteries (unused) last anyway - do they perish with time? What happens if there are no batteries to power ipads and iphones, no dinky little battery-powered timers or watches. Would people know how to deal with an era when clocks were silent and time was what you thought it to be? Can you imagine no watch to tell you when it was lunchtime? I was trying to imagine timing a Sunday lunch or boiling an egg - so simple with a clock to check on. But what happens if time is just relative?

I may have to get out my old wind-up watch and give it a service, and then there is that sundial.....