Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeep. Is there anything more piercing than the incessant, shrill tone of a smoke or fire alarm? And raise your hand if you’ve ever had them go off for no good reason. (Mine’s up!) You ...

When you move into or buy a new home, no one hands you a guide to how the smoke detectors work. They "chirp," which really means shriek loudly, and you occasionally have to put new batteries in them.