I've been using the same light bulb for 10+ years (1 Viewer)

[Steve Enemark]

Is this normal? I've had a small desklamp on my nightstand that I use every night for 30-60 minutes as I read in bed. I've used the lamp since I left home for college in 1990.
The lamp used to belong to my sister, who used it when she went to college in the mid-eighties. I don't know if she ever replaced the bulb, but I'll be sure to ask her next chance I get.
Over ten years later, the little bulb still hasn't burned out! What's going on here?
PS: my sister taped a newspaper headline onto the lamp before I got it, saying "'Beer Drinkers Are Healthier Than Anybody', Study Says".

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"Always make the audience suffer as much as possible" - Alfred Hitchcock

 

[Bill Cowmeadow]

We have a 'Sharp Carousel' microwave that is 19 years old. Knock on wood, Its working as well as the day I bought it - and it still has the same light bulb too. My wife says that the day it quits, we will immediately go and get another.
Bill

 

[Scott Merryfield]

So, now that you bragged about this online, you can count on that light bulb burning out any day now.

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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 2

 

[MichaelPe]

Scott's right. Go buy a light bulb NOW.

 

[SteveGon]

That's nothing! I haven't had to change my underwear for the last twenty years!

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My top ten movies that need to be on dvd:
1. Akira Kurosawa's Dreams 2. Freaks 3. Men With Guns 4. The Ninth Configuration 5. The Reflecting Skin 6. Santa Sangre 7. Treasure of the Sierra Madre 8. Voyager 9. White Heat 10. Wings of Desire

 

[Jay H]

SteveGon, now that you mentioned that online, go buy a new pair NOW, and if you're anywhere near SteveGon, I suggest you vacate the area immediately.
Jay

 

[Kevin P]

Some bulbs last longer than others. Usually the bulb that burns out first is (a) difficult to reach, (b) hard to find a replacement for, or (c) inconvenient, such as being the only light you can reach for when you enter the room in the dark.
All other things being equal, lower wattage bulbs tend to last longer than higher wattage bulbs. Appliance bulbs (at least the ones used in microwaves) seem to last forever. My GE nuker, purchased in 1987, still works including the light. On the other hand, I've had to replace the bulbs in my refrigerator (5 years old) already.
Also, bulbs subject to vibration or shocks tend to burn out faster, or the filament breaks in them, which has the same effect (bulb stops working).
Probably the oldest bulb in my possession is in my 23 year old Radio Shack digital clock radio. It has a lighted radio dial when the radio is on (one of those tiny bulbs), and it still works. My wife's Sharp clock radio's lighted dial doesn't work, and it's about half the age of mine. I guess they just don't make 'em like they used to!
KJP

 

[alan halvorson]

I have a refrigerator that is as old as I am - 52 years! - which has been in use all that time, excepting for maybe a couple days when my parents moved, without once needing repairs or any maintenance whatsoever, and it still works as well as it did on day one. Can't say the same for myself.
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They're coming to take me away, ha-haaa!!
They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa To the funny farm. Where life is beautiful all the time and I'll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they're coming to take me away, ha-haaa!!!!!
- Napoleon XIV

 

[Bill Cowmeadow]

The term durable goods comes to mind.
Industry defines todays durable goods as those items that last approximately eight (8) years.
TV's, Microwaves, and just about anything that costs over $100.00
Incidently, the quality of said durable goods is such that they will only last 8 years.
Economics lesson over.

 

[SteveGon]

SteveGon, now that you mentioned that online, go buy a new pair NOW, and if you're anywhere near SteveGon, I suggest you vacate the area immediately.

So that's why I'm the only HTF member in Troy, Ohio!

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My top ten movies that need to be on dvd:
1. Akira Kurosawa's Dreams 2. Freaks 3. Men With Guns 4. The Ninth Configuration 5. The Reflecting Skin 6. Santa Sangre 7. Treasure of the Sierra Madre 8. Voyager 9. White Heat 10. Wings of Desire