You hop in the car, turn the key or push the start button ... nothing. Or maybe one of your headlights goes out when you're driving at night on a highway. Maybe during a long road trip, your radio ...

The lights blink, the kettle dies mid-boil, and the house exhales into silence. You’re left squinting at labels and rummaging a drawer where bent nails, old batteries and a crumpled strip of kitchen ...