Planned obsolescence

Light Bulbs

Inside of a fire station in Livermore, California, there’s a weird-looking, pear-shaped lightbulb dangling from an electrical cord. It doesn’t look too impressive — it gives off considerably less light than a single candle on a birthday cake. But that’s partly because this little bulb, known as the Centennial Light, has been burning almost continuously for 124 years. It stayed alive through two world wars, the first moon landing, and the rise of cell phones and the Internet. In modern life, it’s hard to imagine anything we own lasting more than a century, let alone a lightbulb. So, the Centennial Light raises a question: if we could build a hundred-year lightbulb at the turn of the 20th century, why do modern lightbulbs only last a fraction of its lifespan? ….[READ]