Boing Boing

Boing Boing

The lightbulb that's burned for 120 years draws four watts

The Phoebus cartel capped bulbs at 1,000 hours in 1925. The 120-year-old Livermore bulb draws just 4 watts.

Ellsworth Toohey
Aug 02, 2026
∙ Paid
Phoebus cartel — Rjaerial / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Phoebus cartel — Rjaerial / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

A lightbulb in a Livermore, California fire station has burned for more than 120 years, past a million hours, and it is the stock proof that manufacturers once colluded to make bulbs burn out. It is also barely lit: the nominally 60-watt lamp draws four watts, according to electronics blogger M…

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Boing Boing.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Happy Mutants LLC · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture