More than once we have told you about how LED bulbs have a life that old halogen lamps never even dreamed of having. We are, more or less, ten to one, in terms of duration. We are obviously talking about hours, certainly not years.

This is why it may surprise you, and not a little, to discover that in a Californian fire station, in the town of Livermore, in 1901, a light bulb was turned on and never stopped working . Well yes, it is an incandescent light bulb with a carbon filament inside which, although it was not created by Harry Potter and his wizard friends, has managed to earn the name of "centenary lamp".

Produced in 1980 by the Shelby Electric Company, for the General Electric that absorb the manufacturing company keeps its secret of longevity in a correctly assembled bulb that guarantees a total vacuum, low voltage, absence of intense heat, a thick carbon filament and nothing "turn on and off".

The story goes that in the 70s for exactly 22 minutes the light bulb was turned off to allow the relocation of the fire station, but this did not make it lose the Guinness of Records. So much so that for safety the bulb was not unscrewed, but the power wire was cut.

Don't believe it? Click HERE , a webcam monitors each of its vibrations of light.