By Maddox Brown
Salutations,
I doubt any of you have ever taken the time to wonder ‘What has been the longest lighting light bulb in history, and is it still lighting up to this day?’ If you have been wondering this, then you’ve stopped by the right place!
Lightbulbs have been turned on and off throughout modern history, ever since 1879. Millions, even billions, of light bulbs have gone into circulation. So ordinarily the true answer to “what was the longest lighting lightbulb” would have been nearly impossible. However, now I can tell you that the answer is clear. It is: the Centennial Light Bulb.
This particular light bulb has been burning since 1901 and still burns to this day. It has never been switched off. It is situated at 4550 East Avenue, Livermore, California and is properly maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department. Due to this outstanding feat, it has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, as well as the company General Electric.
The bulb was originally a 30 to 60-watt bulb but as time progressed, it became very dim, like a 4-watt light much resembling the glow of a nightlight. Its first major recognition was by reporter Mike Dunstan in 1972. In celebration of the bulb, he wrote the article “Light Bulb May Be World’s Oldest” in the Tri-Valley Herald after intensive and thorough interviews with people who had lived in Livermore. Dunstan was also the one who contacted the Guinness Book of World Records and General Electric, and later, they both verified the claim.
The bulb was soon relocated to Fire Station #6 for the fire department four years after Mike’s visit. The transportation of the bulb was very meticulous and thorough, making sure that everything was perfect and that the bulb didn’t break.
On the day of May 20th, 2013, visitors to the bulb witnessed the bulb appearing to burn out. This was all thanks to a webcam constantly observing the bulb in stationary view. An electrician was called up the next day to certify the claim, in which it was determined that the bulb had not burnt out, but the power supply apparently was defective. It took a bit for the power to be restored, about nine hours and forty-five minutes. Now that was a close call.
The Centennial Light Bulb Committee, which consists of the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department, the Livermore Heritage Guild, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and the Sandia National Laboratories, now looks after the bulb. It is their duty to preserve and protect the bulb as well as house it permanently in their facility, even after Ripley’s Believe It or Not! asked for it to be in their museum. Fascinating, right?
A photo of the Centennial Light Bulb pendant light in Livermore, California. This photo was taken in 2016.
If you are wondering if you could see it for yourself, then you’re in luck! You can visit this website to see the light bulb yourself: https://www.centennialbulb.org
It’s astonishing how long a bulb can really last when under the right care. The Centennial Light Bulb has burned for over one million hours. Yes, that’s right, one MILLION hours, approximately 121 years.
I hope you have learned something new from this, albeit, it was a short burst of information. Spread the knowledge!