#Bulb boy theory movie#

Thomas Edison's first commercial bulb in 1881 lasted for 1,500 hours soon, bulb-makers were proudly advertising 2,500-hour ulbs.īut in 1924, the main bulb manufacturers in America and Europe secretly formed a cartel to limit the average life of lamps to 1,000 hours, according to internal documents, Dannoritzer said. In meticulous detail, the film lays out how, initially, manufacturers strove for long-lasting bulbs. Now, on the eve of its 110th birthday, the bulb, also called the Centennial Light, is the subject of Pyramids of Waste (alternate title: The Light Bulb Conspiracy), a documentary about ' planned obsolescence,' which Wikipedia calls 'a policy of deliberately planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become obsolete or nonfunctional after a certain period.' An article about the film in Sunday's San Jose Mercury News details the theory behind the light bulb conspiracy: It's a prank,' he said curtly, slamming down the phone.'' Some, like David Tse, an electrical engineering professor at UC Berkeley, are skeptical. 'Scientists - of which there are thousands around Livermore and its labs - have studied it for decades. It was first installed in a Livermore firehouse on L Street in 1901, replacing the kerosene lanterns that helped firefighters load hoses and shovels for night calls. Its workings may be a mystery, but it's probably the most well-documented lightbulb in history. Inside the hand-blown glass is a jumble of carbon filament that radiates about 4 watts of soft orange light - about the strength of a nightlight. The lightbulb is about 3 inches long and slightly rounder than a modern lightbulb. And no one wants to unscrew the bulb to find out.

Nobody, even in this golden age of technology, knows why. 6 is a lightbulb that has not burned out in 110 years. So check this out from the Chron:Īt Livermore Fire Station No. Some people I asked have heard about the light bulb, but many others, including me, have not.

#Bulb boy theory movie#

So last Sunday, I'm sitting at home reading the Chronicle, really giving Willie Brown's weekly movie review ( The Mechanic) the ole deep think, when I come across this crazy article on the Livermore light bulb. Photo: Livermore's Centennial Light web site