# Does the first light bulb actually still work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2002, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-first-light-bulb-actually-still-work/130844 "2002-10-04T15:31:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ressl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Ressl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ressl)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-first-light-bulb-actually-still-work/130844/1 "2002-10-04T15:31:02Z")
Why do I hear people say this and where would such (false/true) information come from? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-first-light-bulb-actually-still-work/130844/2 "2002-10-04T16:19:14Z")
I recall the reference being to a prototype bulb made by Thomas Edison. I believe it is (or was) on display in a museum. I remember reading that it still worked, though I don’t know if that is current information. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-first-light-bulb-actually-still-work/130844/3 "2002-10-04T16:56:21Z")
No. Edison’s improvement on the Joseph Swan design lasted only around 120 hours. (I would gues that since Edison’s design was an improvement, Swan’s design did not last as long.) There is a bulb (and I don’t _think_ it is at Dearborn’s **Greenfield Village** or **Henry Ford Museum** ) that was specially constructed to resemble Edison’s first bulb and runs on a very low DC supply that ran for a great many years. I have no idea whether it is still running. There is the [Centennial Bulb](http://www.centennialbulb.org/newsppr2.htm) in a California fire station. > [@](#): > > The three-watt bulb was created by former Valley business Shelby Electric Co. It is made with a carbide filament that has the thickness of a pencil. ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-first-light-bulb-actually-still-work/130844/4 "2002-10-04T20:58:10Z")
The Centennial Bulb is the oldest lightbulb in the world still in use. It was installed in 1901. Guinness mentions it in their record book. ---
**Author:** ![MHand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@MHand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHand)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-first-light-bulb-actually-still-work/130844/5 "2002-10-04T22:06:38Z")
I’ve been to Edison’s house in New Jersey and his home on the west coast of Florida. In the Florida home, there is a burning lightlbulb that was made by Edison. It runs on a very low DC current and is expected to continue burning for quite a while. It was not his first lightbulb, or THE first lightbulb, but as far as lightbulb’s go, its pretty old. As a side note, both Edison museums are pretty good trips if you’re in the area. The Florida home features beautiful gardens, including a tree (I forgot the name of it) imported from India that grows out and drops new trunks from its branches, thus covering acres of land. The New Jersey home features the first movie theater, which predates the lightbulb. It is built on a turn-table so that the entire theater can turn as the sun moves, allowing the sun to shine in to the projector.