Learned something new today, It irue about companys making products to self destruct.

[Wyatt earp]

I was always wondering how that light bulb is still burning after 100 years in that fire house.... It was made and sold with different materials then you could buy in a light bulb today...


Edit stupid phone posted this before I could finish...




Anyways

Here’s the truth about the ‘planned obsolescence’ of tech

Thomas Edison invented commercially viable light bulbs circa 1880. These early, incandescent bulbs – the Centennial Light included – relied on carbon filaments rather than the tungsten that came into widespread use almost 30 years later. (Part of the reason the Centennial Light has persevered so long, scientists speculate, is because its carbon filament is eight times thicker and thus more durable than the thin, metal wires in later incandescent bulbs.)

Initially, companies installed and maintained whole electrical systems to support bulb-based lighting in the dwellings of the new technology’s rich, early adopters. Seeing as consumers were not on the hook to pay for replacement units, lighting companies therefore sought to produce light bulbs which lasted as long as possible, according to Collector’s Weekly.

As the light bulb customer base grew more mass-market, the business model that supported long-life bulbs disappeared (Credit: iStock)



Greater sums of money could be reaped, companies figured, by making bulbs disposable

The business model changed, however, as the light bulb customer base grew more mass-market. Greater sums of money could be reaped, companies figured, by making bulbs disposable and putting replacement costs onto customers. Thus was born the infamous “Phoebus cartel” in the 1920s, wherein representatives from top light bulb manufacturers worldwide, such as Germany’s Osram, the United Kingdom’s Associated Electrical Industries, and General Electric (GE) in the United States (via a British subsidiary), colluded to artificially reduce bulbs’ lifetimes to 1,000 hours. The details of the scam emerged decades later in governmental and journalistic investigations.

 

[Marion Morrison]

There's still human-hair filament lightbulbs burning in Edison's house that he made.

100 years plus.

I can't get an incandescent to last longer than 3 weeks.

 

[Hossfly]

I was always wondering how that light bulb is still burning after 100 years in that fire house.... It was made and sold with different materials then you could buy in a light bulb today...


Edit stupid phone posted this before I could finish...




Anyways

Here’s the truth about the ‘planned obsolescence’ of tech

Thomas Edison invented commercially viable light bulbs circa 1880. These early, incandescent bulbs – the Centennial Light included – relied on carbon filaments rather than the tungsten that came into widespread use almost 30 years later. (Part of the reason the Centennial Light has persevered so long, scientists speculate, is because its carbon filament is eight times thicker and thus more durable than the thin, metal wires in later incandescent bulbs.)

Initially, companies installed and maintained whole electrical systems to support bulb-based lighting in the dwellings of the new technology’s rich, early adopters. Seeing as consumers were not on the hook to pay for replacement units, lighting companies therefore sought to produce light bulbs which lasted as long as possible, according to Collector’s Weekly.

As the light bulb customer base grew more mass-market, the business model that supported long-life bulbs disappeared (Credit: iStock)



Greater sums of money could be reaped, companies figured, by making bulbs disposable

The business model changed, however, as the light bulb customer base grew more mass-market. Greater sums of money could be reaped, companies figured, by making bulbs disposable and putting replacement costs onto customers. Thus was born the infamous “Phoebus cartel” in the 1920s, wherein representatives from top light bulb manufacturers worldwide, such as Germany’s Osram, the United Kingdom’s Associated Electrical Industries, and General Electric (GE) in the United States (via a British subsidiary), colluded to artificially reduce bulbs’ lifetimes to 1,000 hours. The details of the scam emerged decades later in governmental and journalistic investigations.

Yes they do. I have a friend whose brother was a chemist at GM in Detroit. The brother told us that chemist, engineers and other designers would work to produce breakdowns and failures in products at a certain time.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Of course, anything to get you buying their crappy product again after a few weeks...This kind of shit should be illegal as hell.

 

[Wyatt earp]

I was always wondering how that light bulb is still burning after 100 years in that fire house.... It was made and sold with different materials then you could buy in a light bulb today...


Edit stupid phone posted this before I could finish...




Anyways

Here’s the truth about the ‘planned obsolescence’ of tech

Thomas Edison invented commercially viable light bulbs circa 1880. These early, incandescent bulbs – the Centennial Light included – relied on carbon filaments rather than the tungsten that came into widespread use almost 30 years later. (Part of the reason the Centennial Light has persevered so long, scientists speculate, is because its carbon filament is eight times thicker and thus more durable than the thin, metal wires in later incandescent bulbs.)

Initially, companies installed and maintained whole electrical systems to support bulb-based lighting in the dwellings of the new technology’s rich, early adopters. Seeing as consumers were not on the hook to pay for replacement units, lighting companies therefore sought to produce light bulbs which lasted as long as possible, according to Collector’s Weekly.

As the light bulb customer base grew more mass-market, the business model that supported long-life bulbs disappeared (Credit: iStock)



Greater sums of money could be reaped, companies figured, by making bulbs disposable

The business model changed, however, as the light bulb customer base grew more mass-market. Greater sums of money could be reaped, companies figured, by making bulbs disposable and putting replacement costs onto customers. Thus was born the infamous “Phoebus cartel” in the 1920s, wherein representatives from top light bulb manufacturers worldwide, such as Germany’s Osram, the United Kingdom’s Associated Electrical Industries, and General Electric (GE) in the United States (via a British subsidiary), colluded to artificially reduce bulbs’ lifetimes to 1,000 hours. The details of the scam emerged decades later in governmental and journalistic investigations.

Yes they do. I have a friend whose brother was a chemist at GM in Detroit. The brother told us that chemist, engineers and other designers would work to produce breakdowns and failures in products at a certain time.

Interesting, I always thought it was a myth, I have been in manufacturing for over 30 years and we always tried to make the best quality parts, but come to think of it at this one plastic plant we were making refrigerator parts, over the years they switched from great polycarbonate resin, to cheaper acrylic to cheaper K resin..


Basicly polycarbonate last and don't crack, acrylic and K resin does.


I thought it was just about cost at the time.


.

 

[Wyatt earp]

Of course, anything to get you buying their crappy product again after a few weeks...This kind of shit should be illegal as hell.

I thought it was just about new shiny things and gadgets that made people throw away and buy new, not planned obsolescence..

 

[Hutch Starskey]

It's called built in obsolescence.
It's the capitalist way.

 

[my2¢]

The computer printer companies learned their lesson well. Years ago when my dad was still alive he went out to buy some ink and came home with a brand new printer because it was cheaper than buying only the new cartridges.

 

[Wyatt earp]

The computer printer companies learned their lesson well. Years ago when my dad was still alive he went out to buy some ink and came home with a brand new printer because it was cheaper than buying only the new cartridges.

Lol I remember my first printer was over a thousand bucks in the 80s


.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Of course, anything to get you buying their crappy product again after a few weeks...This kind of shit should be illegal as hell.

Can I borrow some tinfoil? I have it on good authority that you bought it all.

 

[my2¢]

Lol I remember my first printer was over a thousand bucks in the 80s
.

That reminds me of when hand held calculators first came out and their prices. About this same time in my first week of high school physics the teacher was teaching us how to use our slide rule.

 

[Wyatt earp]

Lol I remember my first printer was over a thousand bucks in the 80s
.

That reminds me of when hand held calculators first came out and their prices. About this same time in my first week of high school physics the teacher was teaching us how to use our slide rule.

I was reminded by your first post that I have to buy another power cord for my phone charger(like most of us for the 100th time)

What I do now instead of buying a $10 power cord, I go to Walmart and buy a cheap $12 dollar flip phone, I get the power cord and an extra phone to use for the month.

.

 

[HenryBHough]

These days they're going over to LEDs for traffic lights. But, not that long ago, you could buy (from specialty suppliers) incandescent lamps intended for traffic lights. Thicker filaments so longer lasting but lower light output. I believe they were designed to give full illumination at 140V rather than the "standard" 120V (which used to be 117V, a little earlier 115V and at some point long past at 110V. If you come across a lamp marked for 110V use it'll work at 120V but will burn a little brighter and last not all that long.

I once solved the burn-out problem for a lamp over a volunteer fire station door by substituting a 150-Watt 240V lamp for the normal 75-Watt lamp. Illumination. though reddish, was adequate but double the electricity was consumed. Amount was small enough that the cost was not an issue.

Drove by that fire station last October and the lamp I put in place in about 1964 was still in service. At least according to those who take care of the station who said it was the one lamp they'd never had to change.

 

[AntonToo]

It's called built in obsolescence.
It's the capitalist way.

Light bulbs burned out in USSR quite often - true story.

 

[my2¢]

I first and had last heard of this lightbulb ages ago as a Charles Kuralt feature I believe on CBS Evening News or perhaps CBS Sunday Morning. Just had to find a current link to see if true, it was still going.

Livermore's Centennial Light Bulb Cam