[stephenjwatkins]

Just a note that a site moderator has responded to this reply in their comments:

"First of all, we understand the correlation between low output and longevity, and acknowledge that the Centennial Light produces a very low output. Even so, out of hundreds of thousands of low wattage bulbs produced from 1880-1910, it's the only bulb of its kind that has burned for 113-years. Just a handful of bulbs on Earth are older than 60. We think that qualifies as mysterious on some level -- even when scientifically dissected.

Secondly, I appreciate you clarifying the complexity of the Phoebus cartel's actions (admittedly, it's a bigger picture than what we presented) -- but there exists compelling evidence that the cartel exercised planned obsolescence (we understand planned obsolescence to be when the "lifespan of a product is rendered artificially short by design"). Pre-1900, bulbs had lifespans of 1,200-2,500 hours; the cartel set bulbs at 1,000 hours -- even when GE (a member of the cartel) had access to modern tungsten filament technology that could've increased the output of bulbs without so aggressively compromising lifespan. While, as you said, the cartel's motivation was to standardize the haphazard market, the byproduct of this was an overly-assertive cap on longevity."