Centennial Light - The world's longest-lasting light bulb (burning since 1901)

You will be surprised to know that there is a Light Bulb which has been burning continuously for the past 117 years. Yes, it is true. This light bulb has been famous for the name of Centennial Light. This light bulb has never fused since the beginning of its life time. It is the world's longest-lasting light bulb, burning since 1901. It is installed at 4550 East Avenue, Livermore, California, and maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department. This light bulb burns twenty-four hours a day and has rarely been turned off. The Centennial Light was originally a 30-watt or 60-watt bulb but now is very dim, emitting about the same light as a 4-watt nightlight. This bulb has been noted by The Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, and General Electric due to its longevity. It is often cited as evidence for the existence of planned obsolescence in later-produced light bulbs. The hand-blown, carbon-filament common light bulb was manufactured in Shelby, Ohio, by the Shelby Electric Company in the late 1890s.  According to the fire department, the bulb was turned off for the first time in 1937 (for a week) for a renovation and the odd power outage. In 1976, the fire department moved to Fire Station #6 with the bulb; the bulb socket's cord was severed for fear that unscrewing the bulb could damage it. It was deprived of electricity for only 22 minutes during the transfer, which was made in a specially designed box and with full firetruck escort. An electrician was on hand to install the bulb into the new fire station's emergency generator. In 2001, the bulb's 100th birthday was celebrated with a community barbecue and live music. There is also a webcam installed to show the live broadcast of the bulb. When the bulb was extinguished during a live broadcast in 2013, it was reported that the bulb was finally fused but it was found that the bulb was absolutely safe, while the 76-year-old wires had been damaged. After repairing the wires, the Livermore Centennial Light Bulb was illuminated again. People come from far away to see this bulb. For the last 3 decades, there has been an increase in the number of people coming here to see this bulb. By looking at the large number of people coming here, it seems like that this bulb has now become a museum in itself.

In 2010, this bulb was mentioned in a French–Spanish documentary. According to the documentary, after making this bulb, the company felt that if all the bulbs burn continued for a long time, people would not need to change the bulb and the sale would stop. Then the bulbs were reduced to age. By the 1920's, an electric bulb lasted an average of 2500 hours. But today an electric bulb does not run for more than a thousand hours. According to the documentary, there was a secret meeting between the bulb companies in 1924. At that meeting there was an agreement to reduce the bulb's age. Gradually, the rest of the companies took the same route. Now the durable things that last for 10 to 15 years in the market are very few.