Light bulb burns for 81 years

For the past 81 years, Mangum Oklahoma's firefighters have had trouble sleeping.

[Molly]

Cool. I want one. I hate to change light bulbs!

[Adams]

What about when the power goes out?

[Eric Keller]

WE have the longest burning light bulb here in Livermore, California at the East Avenue Fire Station. Over 100 years! It even has it's own Webcam.

[jack]

who cares!

[J Smith]

Wow, slow news day in Ok.

[MtR]

Pretty soon that type of bulb will be illegal, So much for old stuff.

[Sue]

You can click on the link at the bottom of the page to read another article about other longest lasting light bulbs. I bet light bulb companies have the technology to make lifetime light bulbs now. But then they wouldn't make any money because nobody would need to buy them anymore unless they were broken. But there are reports of old unbreakable light bulbs too. One theory as to why those old light bulbs are still burning is they were very low wattage, like 4 watts or so, but if that's the case then why do those 4 watt & 7 watt nightlight bulbs burn out? Again, so the light bulb companies can sell more.

[okay]

LOL, when the light bulb was invented it would of lasted just as long.

The company's make lightbulbs to go out nowadays to make money. There is technology out there to make a ever lasting lightbulb. but why do that? youll never make money.

[Hevach]

Nothing to do with selling more. Look at the brightness. A 4 watt nightlight bulb is much brighter than this, and the filament is much hotter. The living room in my house was once lit with a chandelier of FOURTY bulbs similar to these, and is currently lit (probably better) by a single 150 watt 3-way lamp (which usually doesn't have to be turned up to the top setting).

Sure, companies do have the ability to make longer life bulbs. They sell them. But incandescent bulbs remain the most popular, and in order to produce the level of lighting people expect, they have to burn very near their melting point. It either takes an inordinate number of them to light a room, or the bulbs will be prone to failure. The filament materials being used now have the highest melting point of any cost effective conductor - any other metal will mean a lower brightness.

Longer life bulb types have been available since I was a child. They cost more, and until recently, they've often had drawbacks of light quality, color, or high-frequency flicker. Some still do, but soft white compact florescents are available now, as well as designs meant to soften the flicker effect.

If you want to use the cheapest comfortable light sources, you're going to have to deal with the fact that they're going to fail.

[oldster]

This just appears to be a shocking waste of power...think of the damage this bulb has inflicted on the environment, yet you celebrate like it's some kind of achievement! Shame on you...

[Drew]

The State of Oklahoma became a state in 1907. That means that the state was only ten years old when the bulb was screwed in. And being 2008, that means that in nine years that bulb will have been burning for a century. That's impressive.

[Kickarn]

Eric Keller wrote:

WE have the longest burning light bulb here in Livermore, California at the East Avenue Fire Station. Over 100 years! It even has it's own Webcam.

Dude i got my own webcam does that make me special? lol

[mynameisamystery]

dont forget to pay the electric bill :o

[Nivekian]

They sure knew how to make stuff last... too bad greed got in the way, now you're lucky to get a bulb to last 1 year!

[Tahlequah man]

Actually there is an error in this article. The state wasn't 30 years old, it was 10 years old.

[Rjf]

Of course now you know that some freeking "global Warming - save the world - save energy" goober is going to protest and make them turn off the light. gawd... It would not surprise me at all.

[puttputt]

IT IS GOING TO BE ILLEGAL SOON.

[C Kelly]

If that bulb is this old, then who is the oldest fireman alive since the bulb was installed?

[Neil]

http://www.centennialbulb.org/index.htm
Burn Baby Burn.

[Tiffany]

OK I guess the old saying they don't build them like they used to is true.