# Tool for extracting a broken light bulb? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242 "2006-01-10T01:02:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/41 "2006-01-10T03:58:29Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > It’s from the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”: > > “Picture yourself on a train in a station, > With plasticine porters with looking glass ties,” I see > [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > The word plasticine isn’t used in the US, AFAIK. So what do you call it in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/42 "2006-01-10T04:06:58Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > So what do you call it in the US? The closest thing we’d have would be modeling clay. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/43 "2006-01-10T04:12:13Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > The closest thing we’d have would be modeling clay. I’ve always called it plasticine. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/44 "2006-01-10T04:29:37Z")
Sell the house and move to one with no broken lightbulbs. You don’t have to worry about a potato, turning off any power, clay, whether your pliers are insulated or not, rogue shards of glass on the floor, etc. Trust me, this is the easiest way. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/45 "2006-01-10T04:33:13Z")
The tool I prefer is my least-favourite cousin. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/46 "2006-01-10T04:33:19Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > I’ve always called it plasticine. Was that a name brand or a localized thing? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/47 "2006-01-10T04:34:47Z")
I saw a plasticine potato once. It was in Mariana’s trench. But it was only there for 20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/48 "2006-01-10T04:39:27Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Was that a name brand or a localized thing? Might have been. All I know is that as long as I’ve known about the stuff, I’ve called it plasticine. This is New Jersey, probably early 70s or thereabouts. I’m not sure _how_ I was exposed to the term; most likely a teacher, I suspect. I also seem to recall packages so labeled. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/49 "2006-01-10T04:46:46Z")
> [@Kolak of Twilo](#): > > I saw a plasticine potato once. > > It was in Mariana’s trench. > > But it was only there for 20 minutes. How did Mariana feel about that? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@CrazyFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyFoo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/50 "2006-01-10T05:12:55Z")
If you can’t find a potatoe, I’ve removed a broken bulb with a bar of soap. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/51 "2006-01-10T06:12:36Z")
What happen? Somebody broke us up the bulb. Main power turn off. Hello Needlenose. All your potatoes are belong to us. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/52 "2006-01-10T06:40:06Z")
> [@CrazyFoo](#): > > If you can’t find a potatoe, I’ve removed a broken bulb with a bar of soap. Are you Dan Quayle? ---
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/53 "2006-01-10T12:57:28Z")
I have, in the past, turned the power off and used a carrot _instead_ of a potato. But I turned the power off first. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/54 "2006-01-10T13:13:14Z")
This “power” thing all you people talk about? Are you saying it should be “on” or “off”? When I shut the fuses off, it’s too dark to see the socket, so I assume I have to have the fuses fully powered, right? I kid, I kid. Potato accomplished. Actually I used the wooden broomhandle technique, mainly because I didn’t have a potato and I needed the extra extension (it would have to be a mighty big potato to reach the ceiling.) Now I’m interested in finding out other vegetables that are useful in electrical work–I assume a sweet potato would have done as well (I had one of those) and you say a carrot is also good? Parsnip? Turnip? Rutabaga? Any old tuber? I would think a broccolo stalk would be almost the perfect size. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/55 "2006-01-10T14:43:49Z")
> [@pseudotriton ruber ruber](#): > > This “power” thing all you people talk about? Are you saying it should be “on” or “off”? When I shut the fuses off, it’s too dark to see the socket, so I assume I have to have the fuses fully powered, right? > > I kid, I kid. > > Potato accomplished. Actually I used the wooden broomhandle technique, mainly because I didn’t have a potato and I needed the extra extension (it would have to be a mighty big potato to reach the ceiling.) Now I’m interested in finding out other vegetables that are useful in electrical work–I assume a sweet potato would have done as well (I had one of those) and you say a carrot is also good? Parsnip? Turnip? Rutabaga? Any old tuber? I would think a broccolo stalk would be almost the perfect size. I would say that the classic technique definitely calls for a tuber, ideally a 1920s style death tuber. You might pick up a potato or related vegetable to hold in reserve for the next broken light bulb, referring to it as the pseudotriton ruber ruber tuber. Okay, I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/56 "2006-01-10T14:54:53Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I…the pseudotriton ruber ruber tuber… Hubba hubba! ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/57 "2006-01-10T15:24:11Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Listen to the man. The clown who wired my house did this. On a chandelier. Over a staircase. I tried replacing a bulb, got a shock and reflexively threw the lamp globe down the staircase. I’m lucky I didn’t follow it. Same here. Well, not the lamp throwing part, but the electrocution due to nimrod diy former homeowner part. Reason for the apparent massive popularity of diy electridiocy, imo, is that it is so much less humiliating than diy plumbing. With electrical work, it either works or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, it trips the circuit breaker, or you die. With plumbing, it invariably _almost_ works, but a little will drip somewhere unseen in a wall, or you get that tiny little spray that you can’t stop, leaving you wet, miserable, and kneeling in a humiliating puddle of proof of your plumbing ineptitude. This thread reminded me of [this clip (work safe)](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3160251396295774526) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/58 "2006-01-10T16:04:20Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I would say that the classic technique definitely calls for a tuber, ideally a 1920s style death tuber. You might pick up a potato or related vegetable to hold in reserve for the next broken light bulb, referring to it as the pseudotriton ruber ruber tuber. > > Okay, I’ll stop now. [Here you go the pseudotriton ruber ruber tuber](http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/jrfranchi/pseudotritonruberrubertuber.jpg) Jim ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/59 "2006-01-10T16:15:04Z")
> [@CrazyFoo](#): > > If you can’t find a potatoe, I’ve removed a broken bulb with a bar of soap. Just don’t use Silly Putty, because if you drop it, it might bounce back up and poke your eye out. Regardless of whether you remembered to turn off the power. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242/60 "2006-01-10T20:44:09Z")
**So, in summary:** Using a mixture of 50% Potato/50% Plasticine, coat a broomstick or other suitable tuber and hand it to your cousin and let him have at it. Don’t forget to turn off the power, unless you want to off your cousin, in which case, leave the power on. **Additional tips:** Turn off the power. Turn off the breaker. If you are still concerned about the danger of electrical shock, drive your car into the nearest transformer. This should turn off power for the entire neighborhood. Always use soap to wash your hands off after carving the potato. If you have no soap, use potato to wash your hands. If you have no potato, you may substitute soap, but not rutebega. “Potato” does not have an “e” in it. If you have no Plasticine, you may use Modeling Clay. If you have no Modeling Clay, you may use potato. If a rash occurs, seek medical attention. Do not attempt to wash your cousin while he is unscrewing the lightbulb, particularly when the power is on, which it should not be. Warning: This is purely DIY, but if you are not a DIY kinda guy, you may end up DOA, so CYA.[ul] [/ul] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tool-for-extracting-a-broken-light-bulb/339242.md?page=4)