Are you sitting comfortably? Good, then let's begin. First up in our world of wierd batteries is this one:
Thanks to Johnny 5 for donating the Cheung Chi battery to The Gobmeister (who has forgotten where Johnny said he got it from). Here's another example:
Thanks to Robert for that one, now here's one from The Gobmeister:
"KINPOWER"?!?!?..... "K I N P O W E R "?!?!? Who the heck are KINPOWER? Have you ever heard of them? 'Cos The Gobmeister certainly hasn't. He found this gem inside one of the little "Bedrock AM" radios which are lent out to patients in Oldchurch Hospital.
So, where might one look in hope of finding a "rare" battery? Well, hotel TV remote controls are a good start. In fact, check out the batteries in your own remote controls at home. If they are the original batteries that came with the remote, then there is a chance that they could be an unusual brand. Why not have a look today and see what you find.
Here's a Travel Inn TV remote with its back removed, which The Gobmeister found in Cheadle, Greater Manchester:
"Poweer"! How queer! Another potential source of wierd battery brands is your local market stall or cheapo-shop. You know, the sort of stall or shop that sells what might be described as "cheap / dodgy ol' tat" ! Every town has them. Usually the shops are called "Poundsave", "The Pound Shop", or something like that.
Here are some crappy "Powercell" batteries bought by The Spinmeister's dad from Romford Market (probably):
Notice how they've been dressed up in Duracell colours, to make them look as though they might be any good! They are in fact very very poor. Four of them lasted about 5 minutes in a remote control mini. Their weight (or rather lack of) should have been a clue. A dozen "Powercells" seem to weigh about the same as a pair of decent alkaline batteries. You have been warned!