A Lightbulb Conspiracy: a history of planned obsolesence, from light bulbs to inkjet printers

[JohnyCanuck]

Run time: 52:53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1xt4nEvipg   Posted on YouTube: August 23, 2011 By YouTube Member: hunkydoryorder Views on YouTube: 5001   Posted on DU: November 01, 2011 By DU Member: JohnyCanuck Views on DU: 1297

 
In 1972 an incandescent light bulb in a Livermore, California fire station was found to be still operating after being first installed in 1901. For it's 100th birthday in 2001, the town actually threw a 100th birthday part for its centenarian light bulb and 800 participants sang the Happy Birthday song to their light bulb. So what made this particular incandescent light bulb, manufactured in the late 1800s, different from the incandescent light bulbs of later years which all came with much shorter life spans?

[TheWraith]

1. What made it different is called the far end of the bell curve.

Just because something's improbable, like a light bulb lasting for 100 years, doesn't mean it's impossible. In fact, odds would dictate that it's happened somewhere at some time. If the odds were 1 in 100 million... how many lightbulbs do you think we've used over the last century?

[dmallind]

3. No No - clearly all progress is a capitalist cabal's secret profit-plot

The only reason this one lightbulb still works is because it was snuck into the "crap - mass use" pile at the factory from the zealously guarded super secret "great - rich bastards only" pile that every factory has. The first much bigger pile gets everything designed to fail within a couple of years which is how businesses make money. Only the Inner Circle even know about the second smaller pile let alone get to use them. The left end of the bell curve you mention is carefully directed to Enemies Of The Elite who are identified by membership on DU and other left leaning sites. We get the lightbulbs that only last seconds just so the rich can get more money when we buy more.

And of course everything gets made worse and worse and is designed to shaft consumers more and more over time. That's why we have CFL and LED bulbs now and why cars are routinely expected to go 100k miles without major overhaul.

[lumpy]

2. Henry Ford knew what he was talking about.

nt

[ellenfl]

4. kick for later. eom

[KurtNYC]

5. Wow. Great doc.

An examination of the treadmill of consumerism that has been created using advertising, designed obsolescence and credit.

The Victorian predicted that by 1910 we would all work 4 hours a day or less. This doc goes far in explaining why that didn't happen.

And the idea of shopping for fun...so many simple but profound facts in there.