An American town is preparing to celebrate a light bulb that has been glowing more-or-less continuously since 1901.
The four watt bulb, installed in a fire station in Livermore, California, has been declared the oldest known working light bulb by the Guinness Book of World Records.
The bulb was a gift from a businessman in 1901 and with the exception of a brief period in 1903, a week in 1937 and some power outages between then and 1976, the light has remained on.
Lynn Owens, the chairman of the town's light bulb centennial committee, said that the light's longevity has baffled scientists.
He said: Nobody knows how it's possible. It is a 60 watt bulb and it's only turned on for about four watts but nobody knows why it keeps burning.
We've had scientists from all over the country look at this light bulb. Of course nobody has ever been able to touch this it, he added.
The bulb has become a major tourist draw for Livermore and a celebrity in its own right. Comedy Central's The Colbert Report did a comic feature for the bulb's 110th birthday.
Link to video: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...light-bulb-still-burning-after-110-years.html
The four watt bulb, installed in a fire station in Livermore, California, has been declared the oldest known working light bulb by the Guinness Book of World Records.
The bulb was a gift from a businessman in 1901 and with the exception of a brief period in 1903, a week in 1937 and some power outages between then and 1976, the light has remained on.
Lynn Owens, the chairman of the town's light bulb centennial committee, said that the light's longevity has baffled scientists.
He said: Nobody knows how it's possible. It is a 60 watt bulb and it's only turned on for about four watts but nobody knows why it keeps burning.
We've had scientists from all over the country look at this light bulb. Of course nobody has ever been able to touch this it, he added.
The bulb has become a major tourist draw for Livermore and a celebrity in its own right. Comedy Central's The Colbert Report did a comic feature for the bulb's 110th birthday.
Link to video: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...light-bulb-still-burning-after-110-years.html
