"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message
...

In my never humble opinion:
1. There's no such thing as NiCd "memory effect", except in very
unique conditions found only in sintered plate batteries (found in
airplane starter batteries).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_effect

I'm old enough to remember reading about this, circa 1959.

At that time, my father had an appliance store in Towson, MD. He got a number
of industry publications, including "Merchandising Week" (later "Electrical
Merchandising Week"). * These included articles discussing memory effect.

According to these articles, memory effect had reared its ugly head with
rechargeable electric toothbrushes. Users commonly put the handle back on the
charger after every use. So, unless a lot of people used the toothbrush every
day, it went through a shallow discharge/charge cycle. The result was that the
batteries lost their ability to hold a "full" charge.

The solution was discovered when people took their electric toothbrushes on
trips, and the toothbrush's power switch was accidentally turned "on" in the
suitcase, causing a "hard" battery rundown. When the battery was recharged, it
got most of its capacity back.

Now... //This is what the trade publications said.// Whether it is the truth
about "memory effect", I don't know.

* This magazine was my introduction to Charles Rodrigues' cartoons. (I didn't
read "Stereo Review" at the time.)