![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSokHMxjWeioJ5moCtiZwqZYPp4oSD83kcdasqhKdC3Cj/image.png)One thing I really enjoy besides being able to write the daily dose is to interact with the people who actually take the time to read it and leave comments and suggestions. So when @natubat was kind enough to suggest I look into the story called The Light Bulb Conspiracy and told me I could probably find it on You Tube I decided to go look it up.

 Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen I am so glad I did, I always believed that there were some fishy things going on and this documentary film she suggest confirmed exactly what I was thinking and in some cases saying. So a tip of the ten gallon hat to Ms, @natubat.

I learned a new term, at least for me, planned obsolescence. We live in a growth economy society and the only way to sustain that type of growth is to design things to fail or to create products that will be quickly be replaced by other products that offer more features or just a better and more attractive appearance. That last part is solely the work of advertising agencies and marketing departments, if a product looks better, it must be better is what we have been told and just like fish on a hook we have been reeled in.

Planned obsolescence is the desire on the part of the consumer to own something just a little newer or a little sooner than really is necessary. If you were like me and are not aware of this film, I highly suggest you take the time to watch it. The film has a running time of just under one hour and in my opinion is an hour well spent. If you ever wondered why the printers we buy to print stuff at home seam to never last as long as we would expect them to, they answer that question for you in the film, and even tell you how to fix the problem in a lot of the cases. 

I normally don’t do reviews except on the 15th of the month and that is BBQ, I also don’t want to get into the habit of reviewing things either but I am going to tell you a little more about The Light Bulb Conspiracy simply because it is even worse than I had figured it was. We won’t call this a review; let just say I got carried away on telling a story, which really captivated me.

They call this documentary The Light Bulb Conspiracy simply because they have the evidence to prove that there was in fact a plan by light bulb manufacturers around the world to cut down on the life expectancy of incandescent light bulbs. I don’t buy the light bulbs in our house, Mrs. Papper does, and I am usually the one who is tasked with changing them. There are a couple fixtures that require the use of a stepladder to do it so it isn’t something I can do just standing on the floor. She usually buys the bulbs that are “rated” for 1,000 hours so I don’t have to change them as often. I never have really kept track to see if we get 1,000 hours out of those bulbs but I suspect not.

Let me tell you we have been getting screwed by the light bulb companies since the 1920’s, and it is not by accident but by design. How long do you think I light bulb could really last? Let me be clearer on the question; how long if it were to be left on 24 hours a day seven days a week? My guess would have been around 5 years or so, that would be almost 44,000 hours. That sure as hell is way more than the 1,000 hours that we currently have but am I being unrealistic?

 The answer is yes, I am being unrealistic only because we have been conditioned to think that light bulbs can’t last any more than the 1,000 or perhaps even 2,500 hours. The truth is even at 2,500 or 25,000 hours I wouldn’t even be close to the number of hours a light bulb that is properly designed and constructed could last.

Back in the early years of light bulbs those bulbs lasted and lasted, it was almost unheard of to have to change a light bulb once it was installed. In Livermore, California at their local fire station there is a light bulb that has been continuously burning since 1901, that is not a typo, 1901. That bulb is 117 years old and still working as I am typing this story; some quick math tells me that is over 1,000,000 hours. The folks at the fire station and the people of Livermore claim that it is oldest burning light bulb in the world. I don’t know that anyone could argue that or prove that it is not. They even have installed a webcam that is focused on the bulb so you can check on it yourself, I might also mention that they have had to replace the webcam since the first one crapped out; they are on the second webcam now.

As I am writing this I am wondering just how many light bulbs have ended up in the landfills around the world because some light bulb manufacturers decided to rip off the consumers and intentionally produce bulbs that are the equivalent of flash bulbs used on old camera’s when compared with how long a bulb could actually last.

Okay, I couldn’t stop myself; I had to see if I could come up with a number. I don’t put a lot of faith or trust in this number and I’ll explain why in a second but according to an article I found on the US Department of Energy website from 2013 over 971 million 60 watt light bulbs were in use in 2010, it made no mention of the 40, 100, 125, or 150 watt bulbs and if I’m not mistaken I think that there are even 200 watt bulbs or at least there used to be. Now the article didn’t say if those numbers were just in the USA or if that was worldwide but even if it was the entire world , that is a hell of a lot of bulbs that will find their way to the landfill in real short order.

The lack of faith and trust in that article is because in the “time line” type story about light bulbs they give the reader the impression that the early bulbs just didn’t have any longevity and that the manufactures made “improvements” that finally got the bulbs up to where they would last around 1,000 hours. You talk about a load of BS that is BS at its finest; the manufacturers intentionally downgraded the quality of the bulbs to only make them last 1,000 hours as documented by the film. They even have the paper work to prove it was a conspiracy that was well organized and carried out, including fines levied by their cartel for manufacturers who produced bulbs that exceeded the number of hours they had agreed upon. 

Since the government uses light bulbs and they are normally purchased on contracts one could easily make the case that there was bid rigging and collusion, along with fraud and conspiracy every time a government agency purchased a light bulb. I have never heard of one light bulb manufacturer being indicted for any charges about the sale of light bulbs to government entities but there sure as hell should have been.

To make even a bigger stink of this let me mention CFL’s or compact fluorescent light bulbs, the US congress passed a law in 2007 that would restrict the manufacturing and sale of most common incandescent light bulbs and require that CFL bulbs be used in their place. Would it surprise anyone that three companies controlled over 80% of the CFL market place?

 If I had the time and energy I would try and look up just how many congressmen got some nice campaign donations from those companies along with that piece of crap president with the initials GWB.

 I would also look at just how much those same congressmen invested in stock in those three companies since they knew that those companies would have the upper hand and could no way lose since people would have to buy those products. If you or I acted on insider knowledge like that we would be wearing orange jump suits courtesy of the federal government as we would be brought up on charges of insider trading and convicted. However, when you make the laws you are pretty much exempt from having to follow them, that is why so many people want to be in the congress and senate. 

The light bulb in the Livermore fire station was made in 1895 in Shelby, Ohio by the Shelby Electric Company and is proof that we have all been taken to the cleaners when it comes to light bulbs. The cartel that was known as Phoebus was really the founders of planned obsolescence, they may not have given it that name, but that was what they accomplished. Since then other industries have followed suit; making stuff last less long was the goal of Phoebus light bulb cartel, they cut the life expectancy of the light bulb dramatically and other industries took notice.

The tragedy of this planned obsolescence is being felt all around the world and this film really shows how this is happening. I was astounded to see just how much electrical items like computers and monitors are being sent to places like Africa to just be junked along the banks of the rivers. It is really disturbing how our first world countries are trashing these so called third world places. I always thought that old electronics were being recycled but I was in for a big surprise when it comes to that, I think you will be as well if you watch this film. 

I might also mention here that even some of the companies that you might love as a consumer like Apple are in on this too. The Apple I-Pod is a prime example of just how they will bend you over and make you squeal. The Apple I-Pod when it came out had a battery that was not replaceable and Apple knew at the time the life expectancy of the battery was less than two years. Those I-Pods were about a $400 or $500 item, I never have been an Apple fan and I am glad that I never was or I might even be angrier than I am at the moment. Maybe it was karma that caught up with Steve Jobs. 

There is plenty more in this film and I won’t go into anymore since this isn’t a movie review. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate this as an eleven if I were doing a review because I like when people just flat out tell you and show how things really are in the world. Here is the link to The Light Bulb Conspiracy that I watched on You Tube in case you would like to give it a viewing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j2e1vat7_Y&t=1827s
Until next time,
@sultnpapper

The You Tube link is provided as a courtesy to the readers of this daily dose and is not the property of @sultnpapper. It belongs to the owner that is listed with the You Tube account.
![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmV6917CePH5RPCBGSLizEdHHTSEmPrWMmUJ6vNt9UK1zc/image.png)

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWjsCkzwk4xnrqbCPahWxud5xj8bWLDKLdEmwrqUrVsJj/image.png)

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmY72fpEBgLjMtaZT1jfU8oL4Zu8M8xpRBJt5souTACzRV/image.png)

![]
(https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmf1Hb1rsUxFRF17owjUPKwh6oxCxuMVFiXGmjjrgJHmrd/image.png)

https://sola.ai/sultnpapper

https://www.mannabase.com/?ref=43f11540d8

Full disclosure : I do receive a benefit if you sign up for either program using these referral links provided here.

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmV6917CePH5RPCBGSLizEdHHTSEmPrWMmUJ6vNt9UK1zc/image.png)