107-Year Old Light Bulb Keeps Going and Going and Going...........

Fire Station No. 6 in Livermore, Northern California houses a celebrity - a 107-year old light bulb that has been on for over a million hours, rightfully earning the title of the "World's longest continuously burning bulb" by both the Guinness Book of Records and Ripley's Believe It Or Not!

The low watt curlicue carbon filament bulb has become so famous that it even has its own website (www.centennialbulb.org), which is visited by over one million people every year. On the site is a web camera that allows fans to check on it 24 hours a day if they wish! While it has no lampshade, it has a surge protector, a diesel generator and a back-up battery.

Nobody knows why this bulb, which has outlasted the company that manufactured it, has stayed alive for so many years. Most people believe that it is due to two reasons - it has almost never ever been turned off and it is really well made. Its perfect seal lets no air in, keeping its carbon filament from burning out.

The bulb has a rich history. It was first installed in what were called "hose cart houses", when horses were used to carry water to extinguish fires. Over the years, while the horses were replaced, the light bulb never was! The only time the bulb has been switched off was in July 1976, when it made its two-mile journey from the old Fire Station Headquarters to Fire Station No. 6.

Thousands of people watched as the electrician tried to re-attach the bulb along with its socket and four feet of cord, at its new location. At first nothing happened and people thought the bulb had finally died. However, a little jiggling of its switch and voila, the bulb came on and has been on since. Nobody at the station dares to touch it, even to clean it.

A local reporter first discovered the bulb's significance in 1972. It gained celebrity status when it was mentioned in the book "On the road with Charles Kuralt", who recommended his readers to go visit it if they ever went to Livermore. And visit they did - all of a sudden thousands of people flocked to Fire Station No. 6 and the bulb became famous.

Needless to say, the bulb is now a big source of pride and joy for the city of Livermore. They even celebrated its 100th birthday with a cake and barbeque. So when the folks at Ripley's Believe It Not offered to buy it, the answer from the city and its residents was a unanimous NO!

Sources:LA Times, www.centennialbulb.com