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Power Out? Tricks To Know If Your Food Is Safe & Charge Your Phone

How to use a penny and a 9volt battery during a power outage. 

GREENSBORO, NC -- When asked you, “What you were most concerned with when it comes to Irma?” Most of the folks who answered our poll said, power outages.

So, 2 Wants To Know started looking for ways to keep your cell phone charged beyond the normal phone bank charger or plugging it into your car and how to tell if the food in your freezer and fridge was safe to eat.

Phone Charging Trick

We saw this tweet from a news colleague showing a cellphone being charged with a car charger, a cable, a 9volt battery and a spring from a pen. Seriously, people.
This is like Macgyver at its best...right?!?!

Now, the 9volt battery isn't going to fully charge your phone, but it could keep it alive enough for you to send the text messages you need to or make that call. 2 Wants To Know wanted to try it out and two things happened right off. The producer impaled himself with the coil and I mistakenly touched the coil and got branded. I show and tell you this so you don't do the same. This is a safety thing.

Here's the 101 on this; you need a 9volt battery, some type of metal (the next time we used a key and taped it on). Whatever metal you use needs to make contact with the charger and the negative side of the battery. You can see when put together, the blue light is charging.

Food Safety

How do you know if it's safe to eat? By using a frozen mug of water with a penny on top.

If the penny stays on top, you know your food never defrosted and refroze. But, if your power goes out and your food unfreezes and then refreezes (STOP! READ THIS! When your food defrosts and refreezes that can lead to food poisoning) the penny will have dropped to the bottom of the cup.

This trick isn't just good for storms--it's good for anytime you leave the house on a trip.

Before You Leave, Check This Out