This 120 Year Old Light Bulb Still Works!

[@NicoleRitchey]

I cannot believe that light bulb has worked for so long! That is insane! The ones they make now don't even last nearly as long as they promise .

[@powmuckerstion9206]

Because if they did they wouldn’t be able to sell any

[@SgtD85]

Thomas Edison made them worse on pourpose because they lasted too long, causing sales to decrease

[@randomthingch1970]

No one mention that was the side effects of making the filament glow way brighter

[@G-B-F123]

Back then people made things to last. Nowadays, companies make products last less long so people have to keep on buying more. The downside of the capitalism game

[@Bruh-wb3qw]

@@powmuckerstion9206not just that but the manufacture cost and energy efficiency is magnitudes better today

[@nicholasmohr1619]

I remember when inside edition covered this last time. It’s good to still see it still burning bright.

[@matthewmasood]

I'm proud of...it

[@mtanyctrainatlantamartatra7164]

How about exactly right now

[@daniels1485]

Not bright. That's why it's still burning at all.

[@deemoe7301]

I remember back in 1980 when I was a kid, I went to a Consolidated Edison light expo in NYC. They gave every family one energy efficiency lightbulb that never blows out. We had it in my family for about 20 years never had to change it! Sad to say I don't know what happened to that lightbulb. I think someone in my family through It away by accident I don't know. But I thought that was really cool back then.

[@electricitegenerale2247]

I think it was a Philips SL prismatic, incredibelly rubust lamps !

[@teptime]

I worked in a building in San Francisco that was built in 1911(possibly 1913, according to some records). The basement floor houses an enormous steam boiler, so big that the building was built around it. There was a space of about 3 feet between it and the far wall of the boiler room, with an access point too narrow for an adult to squeeze through. Water had been unexplainably appearing on the floor of that room. I was very slim at the time, and the maintainance man asked if I'd mind squeezing my head through with a flashlight to see if there was water coming through any of the walls on the far side of the boiler. When I looked back there, I saw no water, but there was a wood box with unidentifiable stuff in it. I couldn't get my arm in far enough to reach it, so we found a rebar rod long enough to catch the lip of the box to pull it closer. In it were a pair of leather gloves, an old folding measuring tool, a jar filled with nails, and two dusty but beautiful Edison bulbs. I was later told that both were in working condition, but I'm not sure what became of them.

[@AakashSambharwal-f1d]

😮

[@Indusxstan]

When was this ?? How many years ago?

[@teptime]

@@Indusxstan It was probably 1990, maybe 1991.

[@TheLiamster]

It’s actually been through 2 worldwide pandemics. The first was the Spanish Flu

[@HigzyTeflon]

*2 worldwide scamdemics

[@TiestoCalvinHarris]

Louis Armstrong, Walt Disney birth

[@Founderschannel123]

This has been through wars pandemics

[@RaccoonCityPoliceDept]

And the plague in San Francisco

[@eduardoveytia244]

​@Bugz529no es por eso que no dejan tocarlo De hecho no tienen permitido limpiarlo y mucho menos tocarlo por qué temen que se rompa o algo así

[@XolaresTiberius]

It uses more power than newer incandescent bulbs! Thats why they balanced light output and energy usage. But it is cool how long it lasted.

[@tirupatisrinivasaatmaraman8454]

Seeing vintage stuff still making it all the way till now makes me realize, what is the need for the modern stuff 🥹

[@tipo8621]

One touch of that bulb will leave you burning not physically but also spiritually

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

Not really..its low wattage.

[@haryanwar1263]

​@@SunRise-lr7ch it can burn your soul, it has its own consciousness

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

@@haryanwar1263 Mine us bathed in the Blood of Christ..its fireproof

[@NadeemAhmed-nv2br]

​@@SunRise-lr7chit produces 4 watts of light but uses 60 watts. Old inefficient tech remember,

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

@@NadeemAhmed-nv2br still pretty and easier to read by. Makes the room feel warm and cozy.

[@thevictorydoge]

everyone is ignoring that it’s only running on 4 watts, like yeah of course it will last way longer than it would normally

[@sjcflawless]

Yoo! I remember seeing this on Inside Edition almost 20 years ago. It’s still on?! 😮😮

[@daithi1966]

The news reports often refer to it as 120 years old or mention the 1901 date when it was donated to the fire department, but it was actually made in 1890 and used at the water company for over a decade before it was given to the fire department, so it is over 130 years old.

[@RioSul50]

I own a working 1987 Japanese made microwave oven (Citizen brand). The light bulb inside is original and still works. That microwave oven has been used for decades so I consider it an anomaly. No record but one of the best investments I ever made. I also own and use a Maytag oven I bought in 1998. I have had to repair the plastic face cover on the clock/timer/controller. Outside of the it has worked perfectly for 26 years. I replaced the light bulb in once in 26 years.

[@chrispswann6825]

Light bulbs can be made to last basically forever, however companies intentionally make bulbs that will break down because they want you to buy more light bulbs. It's not in their financial interest that you buy one light bulb and never buy another one

[@cityplanner3063]

Bulbs cost like $2 at my local supermarket

[@southernsass2937]

Right, like most other things these days.

[@coast2coast594]

Correct ❤❤❤

[@brianfeuerman1732]

Sure it’ll last forever, if you make a 60 watt bulb that only burns at 4 watts and never turn it on and off.

[@leihope9472]

Forced obsolescence 😢

[@adsn91]

Now Henry Kissinger became the official measurement tool of AGE😮

[@HouseholdDog]

The Henkiss. 1 Henkiss.

[@HouseholdDog]

In Australia we use Sydharb as a measure of water. It equals the volume of water in Sydney Harbour.

[@QAYWSXEDCCXYDSAEWQ]

What is shame is that the technology/research and design has been lost over time. I can recall a documentary about how the companies making lightbulbs banded together to form a monopoly and stopped looking for ways to make lightbulbs last longer; although they did invent planned obsoleteness.

[@dpellek74]

Of course.

[@sleeplessinthecarolinas8118]

You eloquently stated planned obsolescence for me.

[@z.2]

They made its burn out faster so they make more money

[@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917]

It's not true that the technology/research has been lost to time. We know exactly how they made that lightbulb. So, we could make a lightbulb like this, but we don't.

[@ethanjennings6442]

We haven't lost any technology on this, and planned obsolescence is partially true but also more complicated than it seems. Technology connections has a good video on it. You can make any incandescent last a really long time (even 100's of years!) by just running it very dimly at a low voltage. In fact, if someone really wanted to they could have equally long lasting bulbs with some custom low voltage wiring in their house today (provided they can find incandescents to use of course). But consumers wanted brighter bulbs and also more efficient ones. Multiple dim incandescent use more energy than one bright one and require more light bulb sockets to be installed for the same brightness. Don't get me wrong though, business people were not complaining that brighter bulbs happened to burn out faster! There was a

[@dpellek74]

The government won't let us have things that last. That's why they stopped making those

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

No they didn't. Media convinced people plastic bulbs were better.

[@Katzelle3]

Longer lasting bulbs consume more energy while producing less light Try to extend the lifespan of a light bulb and the quality of the light suffers greatly

[@bread8465]

Is the government in the room with us right now?

[@nyaa104]

The light of his life. It's beautiful

[@ElexGamingLifeSafetyGuy]

The idea of a century

[@dougpowers1965]

My parents bought a new home in 1953. In 2014 we replaced the water heater only because it developed a small leak that's 61 years folks, wow) But it ran continuously for all those years with ZERO maintenance, never drained, never replaced an anode, nor a thermostat. It was a Bradford and to this day I haven't heard of another. I considered keeping and probably should have, being an anomaly.

[@marcoroque5362]

All the way to 2024 now that’s 200 trillion hours

[@Jaymac720]

It’s a good thing that they don’t make them like that anymore. It glows barely brighter than a nightlight. It was simply made incorrectly. It doesn’t run hot enough to wear out like a proper incandescent bulb. It’s not durable. It’s just barely run whatsoever. If you run a modern 60W tungsten bulb at 4W, then it’ll probably run just as long. The simple fact is that, when an incandescent lightbulb works as it should, it won’t last forever. You can make them so that they last longer, but they use more energy and flow less brightly in the process

[@Electrotat]

It was a 60W bulb but has burned for that long that it only produces around 4W now.

[@shawnp8076]

I remember seeing this a few years ago

[@cassy420blaze]

That's one light that doesn't want to be shut off lol 😂

[@SanFernandoValleyRose]

I heard of this story from Huell Howser's PBS show over 20 yrs ago. Glad it's still working.

[@Soggysok]

The fact that light bulbs today cannot last a year is surprising they probably make the light bulbs that way so they can get business and more people to purchase them

[@tat3998]

All the manufacturers formed a union to do so. If another manufacturer tried to start a business to make them last forever, they’ll mysteriously die of natural causes just like the guy that made a conversion kit to make a car run on water. That man is dead

[@ajspice]

LED lightbulbs can last decades and use a fraction of the energy while providing excellent lumens. While this bulb is impressive, it is using very low wattage and barely puts out any light. It should last indefinitely so long as it isn't broken or has too much power run through it.

[@Jaymac720]

It lasted so long because it’s not running hot enough to be a useful lightbulb. If you ran a modern 60W bulb at 4W, it would never burn out. Running a bulb properly, thus getting it hot enough to produce visible light, means the filament material will sublimate over time and the bulb will burn out. It’s not planned obsolescence. It’s about making the damn thing work and use less energy

[@ryanlundgren]

Crazy that the manufacturing of this bulb is illegal in the US as of August.

[@Doggus87]

It is to conserve energy, The US has 300 million people and imagine all of them uses this bulb. More than 90% of the energy will be lost as heat, so it's only logical for such a country to ban this stupid wasting of energy

[@spccyboy3455]

The grandfather of all light bulbs.

[@stevehall4548]

I remember seeing this twenty years ago on TV. It was amazing then. One part they left out of this clip was that in the beginning, the cord was longer, and firemen would occasionally reach up and swing the light back and forth as they passed by, yet it has survived. They pulled the light up out of reach to help preserve it which has turned out to be a good decision.

[@AbrahamTheBadBadger]

For anyone who want an explanation for this, the light bulb barely glows for the filaments to burn or melt away at the rate they normally do in normal incandecent bulbs. How exactly might be from a manufacturing error or the filament being too thick for electricity to pass through, but thin enough for the bulb to at least glow

[@unknown81000]

So let me get this straight, that bulb exists before the World Wars, the Moon Landing, the sinking of the Titanic and the Pandemic, before modern technology, while modern technology bulbs only last for a maximum of 10 to 20, can I ask why ?????

[@Doggo_Norse]

supply and demand my friend, companies gotta make money somehow, things just don't last like they used to

[@johnhoney5089]

​@@Doggo_NorseYeah, supposedly the lightbulb companies made an agreement to limit the amount of hours newer lightbulbs can run on purpose. It's the same kind of planned obsolescence Apple and Big Tech do now. Talk about being ahead of their time.

[@ajspice]

Because that is a dim, low wattage bulb. It only gets hot enough to illuminate, but not hot enough to burn out the filliment, which is likely carbon. Not to mention, if lightbulbs lasted forever, they would cost hundreds of dollars each, and you would need dozens to light up a single room, which isn't energy efficient. So do you want a bunch of dim bulbs that last 100 years, or just change out the $10 bulbs once or twice in a lifetime? All I know of I haven't changed an LED bulb in my house since I installed them.

[@Jaymac720]

Because that bulb is making barely any light. If it were running properly, it would have burnt out long ago and no one would know it ever existed. If you were to run a modern 60W incandescent bulb at 4W like this one, it would also last forever because the filament isn’t getting hot enough to produce much light so it also won’t sublimate and wear out

[@itsmevarnami]

The lightbulb is livestreamed 24/7

[@ALT-9167]

Speaking of other light bulbs, while not lasting for 100 years or more, Westinghouse made these "Lifeguard" mercury vapor light bulbs for industrial and street lighting use. They have been known to apparently last 50 years.

[@deanna4146]

This lightbulb is in my hometown. I remember being a kid and learning about it

[@Kelly-ml5tl]

If he didn't go outta business I would've bought a couple and moved them with me like heirlooms.

[@joshuavang5449]

Out of

[@Kelly-ml5tl]

@@joshuavang5449 thx 4 the tiypo.

[@WisdomWealth77]

Wow! Also older than the bulb in my logo 😂

[@Nutty...]

Wow! Also older than the bulb in my asz!

[@jexanderarvelo3277]

@@Nutty...lol

[@patricialester7286]

WOW INDEED. NOW THAT IS AMAZING TO SAY THE LEAST.

[@achannelwithaprofilepictur6253]

When LED claims to last 25 times longer than incandescent, but incandescent lasts 25 times longer than LED:

[@Doggus87]

An LED would last 25 times longer than the bulb shown in the video if it was run on the same voltage

[@ajspice]

​@@Doggus87It's amazing how many folks don't mentally tie lighting to power consumption. They don't realize this bulb is running on a few volts. It's maybe putting out a few watts. Basically, it's just enough to light up but not burn out the filliment. A power surge would burn that thing out in a moment.

[@kotzer71]

​@@ajspicethe average person does not know how lightbulbs work 😂

[@randomrazr]

asside from current LEDs, why didnt the previous incadescenets been made this way?

[@ajspice]

They were, but people demanded brighter light that was more energy efficient. That and electric companies wanted to turn a profit.

[@Jaymac720]

⁠@@ajspiceit wasn’t just that the electric companies wanted to turn a profit. Longer lasting but less efficient bulbs would strain the newly created electric grid. Some utilities just gave you free bulbs when you paid your bill to keep you from focusing on the lifespan metric in favor of the energy efficiency metric

[@hunterox1232]

Y’all showed this a few years ago

[@JgOzzo-kh1sp]

And if it's still on 5 years from now. It will be back on again 🤙

[@sicknado]

😂

[@hobbitfan8686]

There should be a children’s picture book based on this lightbulb.

[@maidenaholic]

This shows that they purposefully make things to break after a while.

[@ajspice]

Yeah, look at all that dim orange light you're missing out on.

[@Jaymac720]

No it really doesn’t. That bulb only lasted because it’s barely running. A proper bulb is much brighter, which means the filament is hotter, and that means the filament material will sublimate over time and burn out. The Centennial Light just doesn’t burn hot enough to do that

[@maidenaholic]

​@ajspice in a dark room, it would most definitely be enough. I'd rather a bulb that can work and be very bright for 60+ years, then start to slowly become dim for the next 40 years over a bulb that can be bright for 5 years or less and then break.

[@kotzer71]

@maidenaholic bud sorry to break it to ya thats a 60w lightbulb running 7w it was never bright its more of a glorified nightlight if that

[@christucker1982]

They have done this story soooo many times…

[@loganmalough2379]

That’s incredible, but I can’t help but wonder what would happen if there was a blackout.

[@samanthanickson6478]

hook it up to a generator?

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

Same as anything else..there wouldn't be power going to that either

[@SOMeDoOD1992]

They have backup generators....

[@TheWorldWideHemmy]

I remember watching this when it was first on here :)

[@mrbears34]

Same :)

[@bax2603]

Original smart bulb

[@dyl_nnn]

Didnt you guys do this video a year or two ago?

[@SgtD85]

They did, slow news day

[@rick6672]

I heard that they will be selling this light bulb for 8.6 million dollars at an auction

[@goanimatenetwork3550]

Lies

[@Warp2090]

lies

[@mohitdharnia3468]

​@@goanimatenetwork3550good

[@AnimatingStudios2002]

LIES

[@ChadBray]

I bet they still can make them like they use to they just don’t want to because it’s not profitable.

[@Katzelle3]

No its because you end up consuming 100 Watts for a 10 Watt equivalent that looks really yellow

[@ajspice]

You wanna pay $100 for a lightbulb?

[@Jaymac720]

They do. They’re called nightlights. That bulb barely makes any light at all. No one wants that. A bulb that makes a useful amount of light needs the filament to be hotter. When the filament gets hot, it begins to sublimate. You could run the bulb cooler or make the filament thicker to slow the rate of sublimation, but then you get less light while using more electricity

[@DMH-bt2zo]

A lightbulb who has been on longer than a war criminal.

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

I have 3 of these in my living room. Buying more before they're banned.

[@Warp2090]

Same

[@Jaymac720]

You have three ancient bulbs that barely put out any light whatsoever?

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

@@Jaymac720 they don't blind me and light the areas I need very well.

[@liamtheinventor1522]

I believe the reason it is still working is because of some kind of defect in the manufacturing process which caused it to burn at a lower wattage than what was originally intended therefore, it has been burning so long that it’s no longer burning at all

[@wsq21]

wow...not getting busted..incredible

[@SuperChaos002]

A damn shame that that evil corrupt ghoul is still alive to this day.

[@madenaraputra6887]

The longest lasting light bulb in the world, the burning since 1901-present. The centennial light bulb was burning over 1.000.000 hours of light than LEDs is only 10.000-100.000 hours of burning.

[@Doggus87]

Yeah but with that 1,000,000 hours of burning 95% of the energy will be converted into heat and only 5% will be converted into visible light. So even if it lasts longer it's not that efficient

[@randomthingch1970]

the one time someone turn it off, that thing would be dead asf

[@austenc4520]

You too

[@randomthingch1970]

@@austenc4520 yeah obv, if someone turn me off I would be dead forever bruh

[@austenc4520]

@@randomthingch1970 glad we're on the same page

[@SOMeDoOD1992]

been turned off over three times because of crises, still turns on every time

[@vegarstuen190]

Overdimensioned and probably always gotten low ampere, it can last almost forever like that.

[@CB460xz]

I've had wine older than this lightbulb

[@thomasplouffe1363]

its still working?!?! we saw this about 10 years ago

[@johnhoney5089]

Yeah, the early tungsten lightbulbs can last for almost forever. Planned obsolescence is the reason they fell out of style.

[@ThoryPory]

I remember this being an early vid and was so interested in it

[@sneakerproshop8810]

Where can I get this brand?

[@andrewrice9383]

Interesting that you used the Kissinger reference specifically since he just passed.

[@RilgoHodnda]

He was alive when the video was made, and he had it coming

[@TempleScoop]

Any LED bulb can be fixed I have ones from 2009

[@Warp2090]

true but the average person doesnt want to do that, plus you need soldiering iron and you need to buy led chips which is just alot of work. Old light bulbs give off a nice warmness too

[@NateSceneTV]

How's that scientifically possible? Why hasn't the filament burnt out?

[@SgtD85]

Thomas Edison made them worse on pourpose because they lasted too long, causing sales to decrease

[@brianfeuerman1732]

Handcrafted carbon filament is much stronger than machined tungsten filament. The light almost never gets turned on and off, minimizing wear. Lastly, the bulb was manufactured to run at 60 watts, but it only runs at 4.

[@harpiessnow]

The massive light bulb companies got together to corner the market. They intentionally made a pact with rules among them to help drive sales. A light bulb company that makes light bulbs that last more than a few years, and is part of that pact, gets fined an outrageous rate if they do. All of this was to drive sales.

[@johanvangelderen6715]

Because the tungsten filament is thicker than normal. It runs at a lower temperature. It also emits less light. It's very good at wasting electricity

[@rs12official]

It is dimmed a substantial amount. When you dim an incandescent light bulb, it lasts longer.

[@GoonieLord]

122 years

[@MemoriesGamer612]

Didn't old couples have same light bulb didn't go out yet

[@mactastic144]

This is an old video. Why is Inside Edition re-covering old stories?

[@ChosenOne6666]

The power has gone out atleast once

[@nancyaylward1176]

I think that someone made a documentary about manufactured oddities and this light bulb was on that show. I saw it quite a few years back. I wish I could remember what the name of that show was. It was pretty interesting.

[@TheLexusKitsune]

It’s a shame planned obsolescence makes it impossible for anything like this in the modern era

[@Jaymac720]

Lightbulbs and planned obsolescence have nothing to do with each other. A lightbulb that’s actually good at being a lightbulb won’t last very long. It is a physical fact. When you design for longer life, you lose brightness and energy efficiency. That costs you more on your electric bill. Normal life bulbs were cheaper than long life bulbs for the consumer from purchase to electricity cost

[@andrewserna28]

Using a war criminal is weird

[@JgOzzo-kh1sp]

Bring in the thinking man statue and place him underneath 💡🤔

[@edsjesusii]

Thank you for the information and images. I shared them on my channel. I wish you much success in your lives.

[@LoganPlaysGaming]

Lightbulbs were made to almost last forever. But lightbulb company’s realized that they would go out of business if no one ever had to change their bulbs. This is why company’s have to follow regulations now to literally ensure that their bulbs don’t last too long

[@Jaymac720]

No they weren’t. Incandescent bulbs, when run so that they actually produce a useful amount of light, will burn out no matter what. You can make the bulb last longer, but it’ll produce less light less efficiently. That means it costs you more on your electric bill. That’s backed up by the fact that 2500 hour bulbs were still available even once 1000 hour bulbs were made the norm

[@retroryan838]

It still works!? I remember seeing a video about this bulb over 6 years ago. I would’ve thought it would burn out in the time since.

[@prayrehse7en916]

Old but gold

[@joshualowe959]

That lightbulb is an antique!

[@explorationgmer1336]

Inside edition did a video few years back.

[@theghostewolfe]

This is because the lightbulb is one of the last surviving examples of a properly engineered bulb. Then after Edison took over, they decided that they needed constant buyers and reduced the filament size to increase the risk of failure and thus increase sales.

[@AnonYMous-pv3py]

It was moved twice and it's underpowered.

[@thetundra8838]

How Did That Still Works! Man Just Wait is Gone For a Long Time

[@queenjaylavii]

I remembered a couple years ago when inside edition made the same thing and i remember being proud of Ohio for the great bulb they made

[@jadendaniel8782]

Only in Ohio literally.

[@queenjaylavii]

@@jadendaniel8782 only time I'd tolerate a only in Ohio thing bc those aren't the funny lul

[@merucrypoison296]

Only in ohio 🍷🗿

[@MrDavenez]

Shine on little bulb ❤❤❤❤

[@farre1212]

This Lightb bulb witness Empire Falls, and Rise of New Countries, Mad Respect 🍷

[@malvondavonce7144]

Original title: This Light Bulb Is Older Than Henry Kissinger

[@thatredneckcanadian519]

Now lightbulbs barely last 1 year

[@johntownPSN]

Not surprising. How can a business make money if the product never needs to be replaced. Like many things today. They can make them more efficient but that is not profitable.

[@teresaferrer4748]

The little lightbulb that could and does...

[@intensitymusicone]

He said they used an external power source to keep it alive?

[@WadeWilson-]

0:09 damn... that has 120 years too

[@karpai5427]

And where can I buy it?

[@stephaniejames4940]

All I could do is sing This little light of mine, Im gonna let it shine, let shine, let it shine. That's the first thing that came to mind. Lol

[@chris12321222]

What happened to the camera they had pointing at it to catch the moment it burnt out??

[@2cheat1heart]

centennial light should be remade than those new led light that last only less than a year.

[@uhohjrama]

I heard about this like 10 years ago. How do we make lightbulbs like this.

[@jimcatanzaro7808]

The light bulb companys actually made a deal together to make bulbs to only last a certain amount of hours back in the 1920a so they can make profits off selling new bulbs Also vacuum tubes where only ment to last a 1000 hours of use unless they where for the military

[@Doggus87]

Why don't you make your own light bulb that lasts longer then? It's simple and you'd become a millionaire because alot of people would buy your bulb instead of the other bulbs

[@randomperson-gy5ee]

Amazing! 💡

[@A_Senitent_Ford_F150]

Everybody will be saying that this is crazy, don't get me wrong, it is, but they just reuploaded this as it's own seperate video from a longer video with more crazy old items. And this is a news source?

[@haphazardprism]

What?!? its still going? It was around 100 years old when i first heard about it.

[@AdamDayGamer1]

This definitely will outlast the LED lights

[@ecernosoft3096]

Nokia: “I’m invincible!” Light bulb: *”no.”*

[@mmayer1558]

It works great and it looks friggin awesome

[@sabagecabage7828]

It's absolutely does not. Neither of those

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

I have 3 because they're so pretty. Put 2 in fixtures and left the shades off just so the filimants could be seen. They give off such a beautiful easy glow in the room that makes the colors just pop!

[@Warp2090]

@@sabagecabage7828 ?