In a fire station in Livermore, California, there's a light bulb that's been doing something extraordinary: it's been glowing almost continuously since 1901. While your kitchen light probably burns out every year or two, the Centennial Light has outlived entire generations of humans, witnessed two world wars, and watched technology leap from horse-drawn carriages to electric cars.

The bulb hangs in Fire Station #6 at 4550 East Avenue, where firefighters go about their daily routines under the glow of what might be the world's most stubborn piece of technology. It's officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest-burning light bulb, and in 2025, it's still going strong at 124 years old.

Built Different

So what makes this bulb practically immortal? The secret lies in its construction. The Centennial Light was hand-blown with a carbon filament, a design that's fundamentally different from modern incandescent bulbs. It was originally a 60-watt bulb, but after more than a century of use, it now glows at about 4 watts—roughly the brightness of a nightlight.

Here's the ironic part: modern light bulbs are actually designed to fail. The phenomenon is called planned obsolescence, where manufacturers intentionally create products with limited lifespans to ensure repeat customers. The Centennial Light was made before this business strategy took hold, crafted during an era when durability was a point of pride.

A Very Bright Celebrity

The bulb has its own website (centennialbulb.org) complete with a live webcam—the "BulbCam"—so anyone can watch it glow in real-time. It's been featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!, studied by General Electric, and become a pilgrimage site for engineering nerds and curious tourists alike.

Fire Station #6 welcomes visitors who want to see the famous bulb in person. Firefighters have become accustomed to fielding questions about their unlikely celebrity resident, which hangs modestly from the ceiling, blissfully unaware of its own fame.

The Outages (All Two of Them)

The Centennial Light has been turned off only a handful of times in 124 years:

When the fire station moved locations in 1903
A few brief power outages and one week-long outage in 1937 during renovations
When it was moved again in 1976 to its current home (with a full police and fire truck escort, no less)

Today, the bulb is connected to an uninterruptible power supply backed by an emergency generator. The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department has committed to maintaining it for the rest of its life, however long that may be. At this rate, it might outlive us all.

What It Says About Us

The Centennial Light is more than just a quirky world record—it's a time capsule of American manufacturing. It represents an era when products were built to last, when craftsmen took pride in durability over disposability. Engineers and historians study it to understand what modern manufacturing has lost in the pursuit of quarterly profits.

Meanwhile, the bulb just keeps glowing, a quiet rebellion against obsolescence, burning through its second century like it has all the time in the world. Because, apparently, it does.

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