[Nail]

No picture available on the light bulb above. This is the Livermore bulb, which is about as old.

(Wanted to post this in chat, but don't know how to).

 

[pcgTheDestroyer]

Livermore is older than the Texas bulb by like 6 years.

[_Jim]

They sure do not make things anymore like the Texas lightbulb

Thankfully, that thing is nearly worthless or anything serious!

[Racehorse]

"They sure do not make things anymore like the Texas lightbulb that sold for a few cents and has burned for 96 straight years."

Manufacturers certainly might learn a few things from the past.

I have a General Electric upright freezer purchased in 1952. Still running strong. But not continuously. I confess. Every once in awhile I unplug the thing for an afternoon defrosting.

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Get outta here ... really?!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The Livermore bulb is in a firehouse. But that can't be right, can it? Bush closed all our firehouses and opened then in Iraq. ;>)

[SunkenCiv]

A 1970s edition of the Guinness Book listed a light bulb in a fire house (maybe in California?) as the longest burning. It had only been switched off once -- to move to the new facility -- was then screwed back in and turned back on. Turning 'em on and off does put more strain on bulbs, but that can't be the only reason for the longevity... :')

George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

[wardaddy]

Nice article.

I live in a decent area of Nashville where the homes start around 350-400K.

Mine was built in 1962 and I bought in from the original owner in 2001.

I still have all of the original appliances from the kitchen and heating.....Trane AC is new and I replaced the old upright Fridge last year with a big black Frigidaire that was cheap and works great.

My oven is a 50s model Westinghouse...no such animal anymore...the elements are a bitch to find.

My stove top is an old 50s porcelain GE gas range...works great.

Disposal is an old Insinkerator as is the very old dishwasher.

I could go out and buy fancy German or Italian appliances but WTF....I like old stuff that keeps on working well enough....it has a certain charm....at least for me.

[ßuddaßudd]

Its all about the filament. LEDs are in the near future.

[Ditter]

I have the bulb that hung in the hallway of my grandparents house in the Houston Heights and burned continuously from about 1908 until 1965 when my grandfather died. The last time I tried it a few years ago it still worked. I also have a red bulb of the same period that he said came from a ships lantern, it also still works.

[wildbill]

I remember when the Texas theater (an old vaudeville and movie house) in San Antonio was torn down a few years ago, a light bulb high in the wings was found to be still burning. Apparently it had been on for God knows how many years.

[Nail]

Not worth its own thread, but this piece of news is a bit related to what we discussed here:

 

130-year-old Chinese fire put out

A fire that broke out more than 100 years ago at a Chinese coalfield has finally been extinguished, reports say.

In the last four years, firefighters have spent $12m in efforts to put out the flames at Liuhuanggou colliery, near Urumqi in Xinjiang province.

While ablaze, the fire burned up an estimated 1.8m tons of coal every year, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

Local historians said the fire first broke out in 1874, Itar-Tass reported.

Hou Xuecheng, head of the Xinjiang Coalfield Firefighting Project Office, said the Liuhuanggou fire was the largest among eight major coalfield fire areas in Xinjiang.

The burning coal emitted 100,000 tons of harmful gases - including carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide - and 40,000 tons of ashes every year, Mr Hou told Xinhua.

The continuing blaze is also thought to have caused environmental damage to the region.

Xinjiang accounts for 1.8 trillion tons, or 40.6%, of China's total coal reserves.