Bits & Pieces: Questions

by Paula Johnson

Almost as soon as we can talk, we begin asking questions. Why? Because…. Why? Because…  What’s that? Are we there yet?

   We expect young ones to ask questions. That is one way in which we learn. But we are never too old to ask questions. 

   Did you ever wonder why there is no “B” battery? There are “A,” “AA,” “AAA,” and then we jump to “C” and “D.”

   The first battery as we know it today was created in 1800 by Alessandro Volta. Batteries became more complex from that point on, and in 1888 dry batteries came on the market. The dry battery relied on paste rather than liquid and were less prone to leaking than the wet batteries. One of the earliest known dry batteries was named “No. 6.”

   In 1924, the battery industry formed a committee to create a naming system for the sizes available at the time. They decided on lettering them “A” to “J.” The No.6 was grandfathered in, and a “B” battery was included for the first time.

   B batteries were used along with A batteries to power radios. Radios had tubes, and different batteries provided different voltages for these tubes. As transistor radios entered the market, tubes were no longer used, and the combination of the A and B batteries became obsolete. 

   Question: What if you have a vintage radio? Can you still purchase “B” batteries? Generally, you don’t find them in major retail electronic stores or departments. However, some vintage “B” batteries might be found on eBay or a small electronics store could have a makeshift replacement.

   The E, F, G, and J are also rare to find. The H-Battery was not on the general market. It uses hydrogen as an energy source and was typically buried underground for protection as well as long- and short-term storage. Today, it is coming into new uses and may be considered a renewable energy.

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   The C and D batteries still have purposes, so they are still with us. As technology advanced, tinier batteries than the A were needed. Thus, we have AA and AAA.

This really makes me sad. Used to be that I could go into a shoe store and be fitted for my shoes. I used to be able to find my AAA width. Then it was just AA. Eventually, the shoes were sized as Narrow. Now, I can only find Medium. Even sadder is the loss of the shoe store. I even miss the shoe departments that had chairs to sit in while shoes in my size were brought and tried on. Because I hate returning anything, ordering clothes, shoes, or anything sized online it is often a major disappointment to me.

     Sometimes when submitting a project produced on the computer, the receiver will ask that it be sent in a PDF version. What? Why? Good questions!

   A PDF translates to “Portable Document Format.” It has been around since 1991 and created by Adobe. The why is a bit more complicated.

   Adobe created this format to allow projects that might be produced in one style on a computer to become universal and be seen as it was intended on another computer that might not have the other’s format.

Example: Every summer for the past 26 years, I have created a document that is what Rolling Hills wanted as its brochure for the new season. I created it on Word – using the version of Word that I had at the time.

   Word, Excel, etc. update and change often. Thus, the printing company might have a newer version of Word and not be able to see our brochure in the same arrangement.

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   Now, I am not a guru by any one’s imagination. Having Adobe on my computer and following prompts makes it a simple process. 

   Questions are growth. Sometimes I would have a caller say to me, “I have a stupid question.” I replied that I taught 8th graders for decades – that there is no such thing as a stupid question…unless it asks EXACTLY what I just finished telling you!

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