A teacher says, “Okay, class. Today we’re going to be talking about the tenses. If I say ‘I’m beautiful,’ which tense is it?”
Little Johnny raises his hand and says, “Obviously past tense, Miss.”
Alkaline dry-cell patentIn 1960, a U.S. patent was issued for an alkaline dry-cell to P.A. Marsal, Karl Kordesch and Lewis F. Urry who assigned it to the Union Carbide Corporation, the manufacturer of Eveready batteries (No. 2,960,558). Compared to the existing carbon-zinc dry-cells, it offered an appreciable increase in life-span and efficiency during heavy continuous drains. Its construction used an alkaline electrolyte, manganese dioxide as depolarizer, a zinc powder-gel anode, and certain additives such including mercury and electrolyte-creep inhibitors. The patent gave practical details for commercial production. The patent claimed that whereas four cells in series of the carbon-zinc type gave 4.5 volts to power a 1.25-amp bulb for 45-min to 1-hr, the new alkaline design gave good brilliance after 6 to 7 hours.« |
