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Light Bulb Burns For 109 Years
Thursday, January 28, 2010 17:07 GMT
LIVERMORE, Calif. (Wireless Flash - FlashNews) – A little light in Livermore, California, has been shining for 109 years.The town’s firehouse boasts the world’s oldest burning light bulb, which has been on since 1901 when it was installed as a night light for firefighters.
Retired firefighter Lynn Owens is the “unofficial historian” of the bulb and says its long life is a bonafide mystery.
Many electricians have examined it and none can figure out how the four-watt bulb keeps running after all these years.
Owens considers it a lucky fluke that locals take major pride in.
People visit the firehouse from around the world to sneak a peek at the bulb, which hangs from the ceiling.
Owens says no one ever touches its switch for fear of being the klutz who accidentally turns it off.
In fact, when firefighters learned of the bulb’s long streak in 1972, they immediately stopped throwing Nerf balls around the station so they wouldn’t bump the bulb.