America's Last Light Bulb
It used to be you could buy light bulbs made in America. Better than the store brands, they didn't screw in at odd angles, the bulbs didn't explode such that needle nose pliers were required to unscrew the base of the light bulb from the socket, they didn't burn out within seconds of first being screwed in, they didn't develop odd flickers throughout most of their working life — indeed, they lasted a reasonable time and worked well. They cost a little more, but they were worth it.
It's been years since I've seen light bulbs for sale that were made in America. Evidently some were still being made here (where were they sold? Europe?), but now GE is closing its last plant. Perhaps there are other manufacturers' plants, but none I've heard of. Most incandescent light bulbs at your local hardware store are, I think, made in Mexico. They're cheap, but unreliable.
It's emblematic of our economic troubles that America can't even make its own light bulbs anymore... How sad!
Posted by George Kenney on September 15, 2010 2:50 AM 
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Comments
Well, I heard this reported a few days ago. When the reporter asked what else Winchester, VA was known for or what else was made there, I sat back and smiled briefly. Then, when the mope said: "Patsy Cline", I shouted at the radio: "Joe Bageant, fool!" Smile gone, grimace in place. And there's a book about the place that in part explains the town's model working class history. Soon to be another.
The last US light bulb plant, 200 jobs, is to have been in Winchester. Another nail…
Sniff.
[I saw the news when it was first reported too, but couldn't get it out of my mind. Plus which, my Black Labrador, Hugo, is from Winchester. g.]
Posted by: Peter | September 15, 2010 8:36 AM
Don't use pliers to remove an exploded light bulb from a socket.
Take a potato, cut it in half and use it to remove the broken light bulb.
As to the rest of the story... ugh...
[In this case, the bulb completely blew out — all of it — leaving only the base of the bulb with a tiny trailing wire, still screwed into the socket. Pliers were the only option. Of course I unplugged the light first... :) g.]
Posted by: pws | September 18, 2010 4:46 PM
America can make them. In fact, "America" is making them — abroad; cheaper and lousier, far away from nasty regulations that protect the consumer, making use of quasi-slave labor.
"America" is no longer America; it is corporations — transnational entities beholden only to owners in the last analysis, and possessing in some cases more resources than some countries, enabling serious lobbying success. Big finance and corporations are now the drivers; they have bought the government. Welcome to globalism. Welcome to our lobbocracy-plutocracy.
Posted by: Catherine | September 19, 2010 7:30 PM
Catherine,
There's a name for a system in which the government and corporations work hand in hand to rule a nation. It's called Fascism.
Posted by: Mr Lapin | October 16, 2010 11:28 PM