# Obama wants to ban Lava Lites! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019 "2011-07-14T15:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/61 "2011-07-16T01:03:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’d probably be prouder of that if I knew what a triolet was. A triolet is where you hope you haven’t run out of trissue. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/62 "2011-07-16T02:36:43Z")
Incandescent bulbs may not be banned, but try buying them anywhere (even warehouse stores.) And though halogens may be more efficient, the only place I can find them is online ([bulbs.com](http://bulbs.com), etc). The only things I can find in stores are the ugly, wrong color, CFLs. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/63 "2011-07-16T03:25:00Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > Incandescent bulbs may not be banned, but try buying them anywhere (even warehouse stores.) And though halogens may be more efficient, the only place I can find them is online ([bulbs.com](http://bulbs.com), etc). The only things I can find in stores are the ugly, wrong color, CFLs. I recently stocked up on lots and lots and lots of incandescent bulbs from Home Depot. (My X10 system won’t work on CFL’s, and I don’t know that incandenscents that I want will be available when I get back to Michigan.) I’d say there were still more incandescent choices than CFL’s. I bought my first CFL’s just the other day (for my current abode, not my house), and I have to say that I’m finally impressed. They turn on instantly, and look just like incandescent “white.” I’m not sure of the real color temperature; it’s Chinese if it’s even on the package. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/64 "2011-07-16T04:42:11Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > Incandescent bulbs may not be banned, but try buying them anywhere (even warehouse stores.) And though halogens may be more efficient, the only place I can find them is online ([bulbs.com](http://bulbs.com), etc). The only things I can find in stores are the ugly, wrong color, CFLs. > > Bob Every single grocery store, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, home improvement store, even quickie mart in my entire city has stacks of incandescent bulbs. I just bought some 2 weeks ago and there were hundreds on the shelf, in many different varieties. Where do you live, Stalingrad? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/65 "2011-07-16T06:02:58Z")
In Russia, incandescent bulbs find you! ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/66 "2011-07-16T10:37:39Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up nights. Anyone who has owned a Lava Lite knows they are driven by the power of a really hot lightbulb–those lovely and wasteful incandescents, to be precise. What’s the fate of my beloved bottle of glowing goo when I burn through my last lightbulb and all that’s left on the Wal\*Mart shelf are nice, efficient (and way too cold) fluorescents? > > Do I need to be stockpiling? Why does Obama hate my Lava Lite? He probably saw that Mythbusters episode where they managed to make a lava lamp explode and cause potentially fatal injuries to a ballistics gel dummy. The explosion was quite shocking… ---
**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:** [July 16, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/67 "2011-07-16T19:37:51Z")
Bah, that’s Mythbusters; they can get _anything_ to explode. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/68 "2011-07-16T20:13:28Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I recently stocked up on lots and lots and lots of incandescent bulbs from Home Depot. (My X10 system won’t work on CFL’s, and I don’t know that incandenscents that I want will be available when I get back to Michigan.) I’d say there were still more incandescent choices than CFL’s. > > I bought my first CFL’s just the other day (for my current abode, not my house), and I have to say that I’m finally impressed. They turn on instantly, and look just like incandescent “white.” I’m not sure of the real color temperature; it’s Chinese if it’s even on the package. [Clip the diode](http://www.hectorg.net/hobbies/projects/aquarium/x10applianceadaptermod.php) to get your x10 working with CFLS - I use X10 all over the house and most fixtures are on CFLs and work fine. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/69 "2011-07-16T20:44:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Bah, that’s Mythbusters; they can get _anything_ to explode. this is true, but with the lava lamp, they (Tori, Kari and Grant) didn’t have to try to hard to get an explosion. They then went on to see how big of an explosion they could cause… Maniacs ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/70 "2011-07-18T01:15:40Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > [Clip the diode](http://www.hectorg.net/hobbies/projects/aquarium/x10applianceadaptermod.php) to get your x10 working with CFLS - I use X10 all over the house and most fixtures are on CFLs and work fine. Thanks, but not quite the problem that I have. In fact, I just assumed (wrongly, I guess) that CLF’s with appliance modules would just work. But CFL’s (even dimmable ones) don’t work with X10 dimmable light modules. I dim virtually every light in my house. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/71 "2011-07-18T02:29:57Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Thanks, but not quite the problem that I have. In fact, I just assumed (wrongly, I guess) that CLF’s with appliance modules would just work. But CFL’s (even dimmable ones) don’t work with X10 dimmable light modules. I dim virtually every light in my house. I use dimming X-10 modules with my CFLs. and they work (although I don’t dim them). You do need to clip the diode in those, too. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/72 "2011-07-18T23:31:43Z")
Why does “Obama ban Lava” sound so familiar? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/73 "2011-07-19T12:50:07Z")
> [@Rysdad](#): > > Why does “Obama ban Lava” sound so familiar? :eek: Any villain with “Lava” in his name is sure to be a badass! ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/74 "2011-07-19T19:38:48Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > If she’s a rabid Republican, do you think it would do any good? No, but I’m compelled to try. Every time I send her something to refute her glurge, she tells me the glurge was a joke and I should lighten up. Even so, I’m usually about one of fifty she forwards the crap to. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/75 "2011-07-19T20:11:52Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > In either case, all of the electrical power delivered to the bulb gets delivered to the room as heat. Some heaters have a “pump house” setting that turns it on when the temp drops below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s more expensive than a lightbulb, but the energy costs are pretty low. ---
**Author:** ![Aestivalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Aestivalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aestivalis)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/76 "2011-07-20T03:09:05Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > Incandescent bulbs may not be banned, but try buying them anywhere (even warehouse stores.) And though halogens may be more efficient, the only place I can find them is online ([bulbs.com](http://bulbs.com), etc). The only things I can find in stores are the ugly, wrong color, CFLs. > > Bob I just picked up 3 packs of 4 at the dollar store. They’re certainly still around, but now that I know the Halogens are here (I have been using them for my reflector flood lights already) I’ll switch. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/77 "2011-07-20T05:29:06Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > “Marge, can you set the oven to cold?” Never heard of a IceBox Cake? > **[Icebox cake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebox_cake)** > > An icebox cake (also known as a chocolate ripple cake or log in Australia) is a dairy-based dessert made with cream, fruits, nuts, and wafers and set in the refrigerator. The recipe for one particularly well-known version used to be printed on the back of boxes of thin and dark Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers. > The icebox cake is derived from similar desserts such as the charlotte and the trifle and made to be more accessible to prepare. It was first introduced to the United States in the 1920s,... Quite tasty. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/78 "2011-07-20T16:06:52Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > For lighting the stairwells used by Native Americans to come down from the Andean heights, you _need_ an Incan descent bulb!! > > _\_ These have been replaced with more efficient ones made of old soup cans and silica gel. You know, in-can desiccant bulbs? _\_ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/79 "2011-07-20T16:11:19Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Yes, very similar, but not the same. You mean in the same way that a Prius is not the same as a Model T? An iPad 2 is not the same as a UNIVAC? A Blackberry is not the same as a crank telephone? Sometimes change is good. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019/80 "2011-07-20T16:49:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > You mean in the same way that a Prius is not the same as a Model T? An iPad 2 is not the same as a UNIVAC? A Blackberry is not the same as a crank telephone? Sometimes change is good. No doubt change is good, but when someone says “I miss my old [insert car from 50 years ago]”, we don’t tell them “Don’t be stupid, you can still buy a new car”. Please hammer on all the benefits of the new tech, but don’t lie to them and say “it’s the same thing” when it’s obviously not the same. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wants-to-ban-lava-lites/589019.md?page=5)