Did you know improperly disposed of batteries could burn down your house?...(video)

on an intellectual level I did and yet I haven't ever disposed of batteries properly.

Which is strange considering I am more than a little paranoid about fires and quite terrified of electricity.   So terrified that when unplugging stuff I used to pull the cord rather than pulling the plug out of the wall to keep as far away as possible from the source of the current.  My hubby, whose father worked for the fire department, broke me of that very bad habit quite quickly.  

Here are some indoor electrical safety things that are good to review  (and teach your kids.)

From YouTube:

 After living through a fire in his own house, Dave shares the lessons he learned during his experience. In this first video, he shows how a simple 9 volt battery started his house fire. Please share this message with friends and families so that they can learn to be safe with batteries.

On the flip side you can use that same battery to start a fire if you don't have matches or a lighter.  The finer the steel wool, the better it will work.

 The question I did have to ask myself was why someone would find themselves in a situation where they didn't have matches, but would have steel wool and a battery.  How many of you know people who barely have an old worn out book of matches hanging around in a junk drawer and have to search for them to light a scented candle?   

 The first real value of knowing these things is the ability to think a bit outside the box.  And the second real value is stocking up on some decent matches.  We have many boxes that we keep vacuum sealed for emergencies.