Is it possible to replenish dead batteries by putting them in the freezer.

There are hidden secrets about the everyday products you own in Know Your Stuff.

You might see a surprise next to the butter drawer if you peeked inside my refrigerator.At some point in the foggy past, someone told me it was a good idea and I believed them.

Gut instincts can fall apart in the face of facts.I took my question to the experts and learned that even the simple things we own can be very complex.

It's helpful to know how a battery works in order to understand why.To keep things simple, we'll only use common AA andAAA batteries.

To get technical, batteries release energy because of a chemical reaction between two or more compounds inside.The electrons go out of the one terminal and back into the other terminal.

When they're not plugged in, the electrons can sneak out of the battery through a process called self-discharge.

There is a device for kids.Is it a good thing or a bad thing?An 8-year-old reader gave 5 lessons from his mom.

If you can slow down the chemical reaction, you should be able to store batteries longer without losing juice.

The answer is no, says Tom Van Voy of Panasonic Energy Corp. of America.

The discharge rate of a single-use alkaline battery is only 3% per year when stored properly.The single-use batteries lose less.

Don't kick yourself too hard if you've been storing batteries in the fridge.There is a good explanation for why the myth exists.

A lot of people store batteries in the refrigerator.The customer experience was terrible until a decade ago, and refrigerators were a stopgap measure.

NiCd and NiMH could lose up to 30% of their capacity per month.They were dead after a few months on the shelves.

Storage of these types of batteries in the fridge or freezer was recommended by some as a way of slowing down the rapid loss.

Significant improvements have been made to rechargeable batteries.Panasonic Eneloop Pro can maintain 85% of their full charge for up to a year at a time, without a fridge required.

The room temperature when battery makers recommend it is between 68 and 78F.Your house may get a lot warmer than that.The hotter it gets, the harder your batteries are to charge.The batteries could drain themselves out two to four times faster if they were stored in a hot garage or closet.