# Did blue, canary-shaped plug-in nightlights exist before 1990? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252 "2020-08-04T13:25:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/1 "2020-08-04T13:25:21Z")
_Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch_ _Who watches over you_ _Make a little birdhouse in your soul_ It is generally believed that the lyrics of _Birdhouse in Your Soul_ by They Might be Giants, are narrated from the perspective of a blue, canary-shaped plug in nightlight. Was this actually a product that existed before the song? I know such things are available now, but I think many of them may have arisen in tribute to the song. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/2 "2020-08-04T13:35:51Z")
Never heard of the song or the nightlight, but it seems like a really weird thing to make up “from scratch” if it didn’t already exist. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/3 "2020-08-04T13:40:18Z")
Even if that specific combination didn’t exist, it’s certainly the sort of thing that could exist. Plug-in nightlights certainly existed, and in a variety of shapes and colors. Could one be shaped like a canary? Sure. Could one be blue? Of course. Could one be a blue canary? Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/4 "2020-08-04T13:41:49Z")
Point of detail: the song predates the common place use of blue LEDs by a few years; most nightlights were either neon (orange-red), electroluminescent (green) or incandescent - which I suppose could have a blue filter ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/5 "2020-08-04T13:46:12Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Never heard of the song or the nightlight, but it seems like a really weird thing to make up “from scratch” if it didn’t already exist. True, but you can’t really go by that, as this is They Might Be Giants, so if any band is going to make up weird things from scratch, they’d be it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/6 "2020-08-04T14:27:28Z")
I had a nightlight as a kid in the 80s and 90s (man, I really did NOT like the dark). Mine were incandescent bulbs with a plastic cover that only covered the front of the bulb, so light would just kind of diffuse up the wall but not shine in your face. I don’t see why fancier kids couldn’t have had a plastic front cover that was blue and in the shape of a canary. [Here’s a new model that is somewhat similar to what I had, except a fancy cover in the shape of a shell.](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Shell-Style-Decor-Night-Light-White-With-On-Off-Switch-7-Watt-Bulb-883/649751683?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101004565&&adid=22222222227108380772&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=233458188379&wl4=pla-384179756562&wl5=9015292&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=137072656&wl11=online&wl12=649751683&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAjwjqT5BRAPEiwAJlBuBQpXta6ChPp7_O6Hs6noYNF6aECPT_mL8nBqQ_cEt45so-GP1xerexoCnEoQAvD_BwE) Yes, it has a 7-watt LED bulb but I guarantee you I was using the same or similar in the 80s and 90s, obviously with a different bulb. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/7 "2020-08-04T17:24:13Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Never heard of the song Video: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NhjSzjoU7OQ/hqdefault.jpg "BIRDHOUSE IN YOUR SOUL - THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS ( Complete Original Video )") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhjSzjoU7OQ) Slate article about the song: > **[Blue Canary in the Outlet by the Light Switch, Who Watches Over You?](https://slate.com/culture/2014/02/a-history-of-the-they-might-be-giants-song-birdhouse-in-your-soul.html)** > > This essay is adapted from They Might Be Giants’ Flood, published as part of the 33 1/3 series and out now from Bloomsbury. Wikipedia article about the song: > **[Birdhouse in Your Soul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdhouse_in_Your_Soul)** > > "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is a song by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released in early 1990 through Elektra Records as the lead single from the album Flood, making the single the band's first release on a major label. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is the band's highest-charting single in both the US and the UK, and is one of their best-known songs. > The song's lyric is narrated from the perspective of a nightlight. It includes an atypical snare drum pattern and modulation ... Performance on The Tonight Show (with trumpet solo by Doc Severinsen): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_zkRjrGmTl4/hqdefault.jpg "They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul (The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 04/03/1990)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zkRjrGmTl4) Unless I missed it, none of these links answer the OP’s question. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/8 "2020-08-04T17:46:04Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Never heard of the song or the nightlight, but it seems like a really weird thing to make up “from scratch” if it didn’t already exist. It may be a case of life imitating art, like [red Swingline staplers](https://qz.com/work/1575833/how-the-red-stapler-in-office-space-changed-swingline/). TLDR: They came only in gray and blue until the art director painted one for _Office Space_. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/9 "2020-08-04T17:52:45Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Point of detail: the song predates the common place use of blue LEDs by a few years; most nightlights were either neon (orange-red), electroluminescent (green) or incandescent - which I suppose could have a blue filter Most incandescent night lights would have had some sort of pretty design to hide and/or diffuse the bulb. I don’t remember a “blue canary” one specifically, but there were thousands if not hundreds of thousands of designs, so it’s pretty likely that one could exist. This would also include hand-crafted stained glass diffusers and “Makit and Bakit” crafts, which could allow even more variety of color/design options ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/10 "2020-08-04T21:55:28Z")
As a child in the 1980s, the night lights I remember were largely small incandescent bulbs behind curved black shades. [This picture](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F72%2F19%2F49%2F721949249d35ad17f21b7fffc13696b7.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F121386152443967090%2F&tbnid=ilMDJwYNFwGZeM&vet=12ahUKEwjNsL_VxILrAhVuh54KHTyfDZ8QMygKegUIARCzAg..i&docid=_7oAMDs3RLuBBM&w=2000&h=2000&itg=1&q=plug%20in%20night%20light%20painted%20shade&ved=2ahUKEwjNsL_VxILrAhVuh54KHTyfDZ8QMygKegUIARCzAg) is fairly close to what I remember, and of course the shade can have anything painted on it. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/11 "2020-08-04T23:59:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > > Never heard of the song or the nightlight, but it seems like a really weird thing to make up “from scratch” if it didn’t already exist. > > True, but you can’t really go by that, as this is They Might Be Giants, so if any band is going to make up weird things from scratch, they’d be it. So, are you telling me I can’t actually get a prosthetic forehead to wear on my real head? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/12 "2020-08-05T01:44:55Z")
Does the song specify that the light coming from it is blue, or could it be just the device itself? Because there are things like this [https://www.letgo.com/en-us/i/better-homes-and-gardens-bird-nightlight\_5d7a739a-495a-4bca-8b6a-7cab070fc759](https://www.letgo.com/en-us/i/better-homes-and-gardens-bird-nightlight_5d7a739a-495a-4bca-8b6a-7cab070fc759) ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/13 "2020-08-05T03:23:54Z")
Near as I can tell, the lyrics only specify a blue canary “in the outlet” and other lyrics in the song seem to support this. No mention of the light’s particular color. It’s not difficult for me to imagine such a night light existed, though it’s possible that rather than being in the literal shape (and color) of a blue canary, it might’ve been something more like a tiny lampshade with a depiction of a blue canary. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/14 "2020-08-05T04:04:41Z")
[quote=“Mangetout, post:4, topic:917252, full:true”] Point of detail: the song predates the common place use of blue LEDs by a few years; most nightlights were either neon (orange-red), electroluminescent (green) or incandescent - which I suppose could have a blue filter [/quote]looks like i screwed up the quote… Nightlights were neon? That sounds like fun but is it true? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/15 "2020-08-05T04:18:22Z")
Sure. [https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-GE-Bakelite-Art-Deco-Night-Light-Skyscraper-Shape/164316265509?hash=item2642033c25:g:VvAAAOSwxBJfG4sq](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-GE-Bakelite-Art-Deco-Night-Light-Skyscraper-Shape/164316265509?hash=item2642033c25:g:VvAAAOSwxBJfG4sq) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/16 "2020-08-05T05:56:24Z")
I Googled ‘Bluebird of happiness’ night lights. I got a gazillion hits. I looked because I remember one in our house as a kid. I’m not sure how young I was when I first remember it. The late 70s at least. We explicitly called it the ‘Bluebird of Happiness’ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/17 "2020-08-05T10:57:01Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Nightlights were neon? That sounds like fun but is it true? Less exciting than perhaps it sounds - they were just like a mains plug with a small neon indicator lamp inside them which shone through the translucent outer casing - they looked like this (this example says LED in the title, but neon in the description, so it may be an LED emulating the way the neon ones used to look): [https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/pel00952/night-light/dp/PL15884?mckv=sYnX3UeZL\_dc|pcrid|426684131195|kword||match||plid||slid||product|PL15884|pgrid|100371159838|ptaid|pla-872781731721|&CMP=KNC-GUK-CPC-](https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-elec/pel00952/night-light/dp/PL15884?mckv=sYnX3UeZL_dc%7Cpcrid%7C426684131195%7Ckword%7C%7Cmatch%7C%7Cplid%7C%7Cslid%7C%7Cproduct%7CPL15884%7Cpgrid%7C100371159838%7Cptaid%7Cpla-872781731721%7C&CMP=KNC-GUK-CPC-) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/18 "2020-08-05T11:04:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Even if that specific combination didn’t exist, it’s certainly the sort of thing that could exist. Plug-in nightlights certainly existed, and in a variety of shapes and colors. Could one be shaped like a canary? Sure. Could one be blue? Of course. Could one be a blue canary? Why not? Fair nitpick. I suppose what I really meant was “Was this already a thing that many people might have instantly recognised as something from their own childhood, when they heard the song in 1990?” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/19 "2020-08-05T19:08:05Z")
All the nightlights I remember from the 70’s and '80’s used the same bulbs we use in incandescent string lights. I still have them on my house, but they used to be the common bulb on Christmas trees. As such, you could get them in any color you wanted. They went into a little bulb socket attached to an electrical plug, and typically had some kind of plastic decorative shroud around them. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252/20 "2020-08-05T19:11:39Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Never heard of the song or the nightlight, but it seems like a really weird thing to make up “from scratch” if it didn’t already exist. If anybody made it up from scratch, this band would be the likeliest to do that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-blue-canary-shaped-plug-in-nightlights-exist-before-1990/917252.md?page=2)