Pinched.........

[wanderer]

........ from another NG!

Q: How many newsgroup subscribers does it take to change a light bulb?

A: 1,192

1 to change the light bulb and to post to NG that the light bulb has been changed.

14 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs; and how the light bulb could have been changed differently.

7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

27 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs.

53 to flame the spell checkers.

41 to correct spelling/grammar flames.

6 to argue over whether it is "lightbulb" or "light bulb"; another 6 to condemn these 6 as anal-retentive.

156 to write to the group administrator pointing out that the light bulb discussion is OT for the newsgroup.

109 to post that this list is not about light bulbs and to please take this exchange to alt.lightbulb

203 to demand that the cross posting to alt.grammar, alt.spelling and alt.illuminate about changing light bulbs be stopped.

111 to defend the cross-posting, saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this newsgroup.

306 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.

27 to post URLs where one can see examples of different light bulbs.

14 to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly and to post the corrected URLs.

3 to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant to this ng which makes light bulbs relevant to this ng.

12 to post to the ng that they are unsubscribing because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy.

4 to suggest that posters request the light bulb FAQ.

44 to ask what is a FAQ.

4 to say "Didn't we go through this already a short time ago on Usenet?"

43 to ask "What's Usenet?"

1 to disagree and tell everyone they were all wrong and it should have been posted to a different N.G.

1 clever bastard to pin point its actually 1,193 and not 1,192

[Julian Fowler]

... and one lazy TV researcher to post a message looking for people who not only take pride in their appearance and who like to look good but who have also put a great deal of time, effort and thought into the way in which they have used light bulbs in their homes

:-)

Julian

[BigWallop]

Ah Ha !!! I see exactly what you mean Wanderer. :-))

[Mark Garner]

erm,

Does this apply to screw thread or bayonet type light bulbs ?

Mark

[David]

I thought they were actually called Eddison screw.

David.

[froggers]

...I thought they were actually called Edison screw....

Nick

[Terry]

Yeah! But what size 'Edison Screw'.

I've always wondered why British flashlights (Oops, sorry; I mean 'torches!) and bicycle lamps used very small Edison style screw-in type bulbs while UK 230 volt 'lightbulbs' were bayonet? Used to find those little spring loaded bayonet lamp holder contact plungers and their tiny, tiny wire attaching screws good quality but hard to work with; drop one of those little screws from the top of a stepladder and ..... Blast and ... ! :-(

The el-cheapo North American screw-in light bulb socket is usually metal cased but occasionally all plastic; typically now you can get (40W, 60W or 100W) bulbs, four (4) in a package for about 88 cents plus sales tax. (Roughly 12 pence) per bulb; is a simple thing. Often insulated with a cardboard shell around the wiring connections! The outer metal shell of the socket is supposed to be the neutral contact and the recessed centre contact is supposed to be live (115v). But with non polarized two pin plugs on older style lamp cords it could be either way! BTW Cheap bulbs and cheap electricity do nothing to encourage conservation!

Where heat is a question I always try to use ceramic lamp sockets, so you can sometimes use a slightly larger incandescent bulb than when the light fixture was originally equipped with a non-ceramic bulb socket.

Bigger bulbs; e.g. mercury lamps etc. use a couple of the larger size Edison Screw sockets. One advantage, I suppose, of the screw type is that you can get a pretty good electrical area contact area under pressure by tightening the bulb correctly. Occasionally bulbs do bind and can break off when being removed, whereupon a potato (power off) is useful to embed in the jagged glass and hence unscrew the remains of the bulb. Discard the base of bulb AND the potato!

Here In North America flashlights (torches) tend to use a bulb type that is neither screw or bayonet, often held in with a metal or plastic ring that is threaded to the holder! Whereas our 'lightbulbs' are a medium (IIRC) Edison Screw. Bayonet and screw systems seem to work OK?

Have fun. Terry.

PS. My 'Spell Check' (UK English version) didn't like my use of "screw-in". It kept referring to "screwing". Different connotation possibly? :-)

[Christian McArdle]

Edison Screw is simply inferior to bayonet. The heat from the bulb tends to weld or corrode the bulb to the carrier due to the large contact area. Every ten bulbs, the bulb will simply shatter when you try to twist it out, leaving the carrier welded firmly to the bulb base with shattered glass shards sticking out (and a hand covered in blood). It also has a huge neutral contact which is frequently connected to the live instead.

Christian.