Posted on 06/17/2011 7:51:44 AM PDT by JoeProBono
LIVERMORE, Calif - Livermore, Calif., is preparing the 110th birthday celebration of the nation's longest-burning light bulb.
The 4-watt "Centennial Light," which hangs from the rafters of Livermore's Fire Station No. 6, will be feted this weekend with a film screening, live music, a balloon drop, book signings and a birthday cake expected to draw visitors from all around the world, the Walnut Creek Contra Costa Times reported Thursday.
The festivities begin Friday with a screening of "Century of Light," a film about the eternal bulb.
Manufactured by the Shelby Electric Co. of Ohio, the bulb was donated by Livermore Power and Light Co. owner Dennis Bernal to the Livermore Fire Department in 1901.
The bulb has been monitored around the clock by a webcam since its 100th birthday 10 years ago, the newspaper said.
Don’t let Algore anywhere near that bulb.
God bless Thomas Edison. Amazing longevity for a light bulb from 1901. I wonder if a florescent bulb could match this record?
Big Deal.
My good friend will be 101 in two weeks!
Yeah!!!!
Sounds like the perfect time for it to burn out. I wonder what the line voltage is there?
This is cool, but not surprising. It has thick, hand-blown glass and has a very thick filament that is running far below capacity. Also, that it stays on constantly is actually what saved it. Turning bulbs on and off is the biggest thing you can do to shorten the life.
And yet it is still brighter than most of our politicians!
Anyone wanna take bets on how long one of those “longer lived” CFL pieces of excrement might last?
This light bulb is a relic of a time when Americans built things, and built them to last.
Quick! Replace it with a CFL.....they’re so much better.
/sarc
And I thought the incandescent bulbs I buy and use that last for ten years were the best!
I believe the bulb was of high quality, but take the same bulb, turn it up to the probably 60W it is capable of handling, turn it on and off a few times a day, and there is no way it would have lasted this long.
Someone will pop the champagne, and the cork will fly up and bust the thing. ;’) I read about this bulb when I was a kid, in the Guinness Book of WR. It was shut off just once, when they moved to the new station house, otherwise it’s been on 24/7.
You were never a kid.
Does he ever say to you: “back in my time.”
Cool.
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