About Question com.enthuware.ets.scjp.v6.2.634 :

[ETS User]

Are strings in the string constant pool really never eligible for garbage collection?

[Guest]

Are strings in the string constant pool really never eligible for garbage collection?

I remember reading that although they are objects, they are kept in memory to be shared with others. They "MAY" be GC'ed at some point, but not immediately after the method finishes.