I got my first
transistor radio in
1976. It was made by
Panasonic, and was white plastic with a metal shield over the lower two-thirds of the box to protect the speaker. It took a single
AA battery. The right side had a thumbdial for
frequency (
AM, naturally) and the left had a
volume control. It had a
lanyard on the left side to be looped around the wrist.
This little radio was a fun novelty for a year or so after I got it for Hanukah. Then I lost it in my room and forgot about it. A few years later, it turned up during a cleaning as I packed for summer camp. I clicked it on - it worked fine. I took it with me that summer, and for the next seven summers. The ritual was the same; upon returning from camp, I'd promptly lose it in my room again, usually not to find it until the next summer.
After I stopped going to camp, I saw it less frequently. It would always surface, though; and when it did, it was always fine. I finally realized that in all this time, I had never changed the battery; nevertheless, it worked fine.
it still sits in my dresser drawer. It still works. I still haven't changed the battery.