I thought this story was pretty neat:Light fantastic: World's oldest lightbulb still burning bright after 109 yearsThis is interesting because of the obvious fact that we face in our age - the typical bulb burns out about every year or every other year.  I guess they had the know-how to make bulbs last even a century ago, but for whatever reason it was an idea that did not catch on.  Reminds me of a comment I heard recently about how today it's possible to see cracks in concrete structures like pool foundations that were built in the 1980s or 90s, while some Roman concrete structures remain in better shape.  It goes to show that the latest way of doing things isn't necessarily superior to the way our ancestors did them.