The expression ‘lightbulb moment’ and the usual accompanying picture of a friendly bulb and a sometimes a ‘question mark’ is generally used to describe a moment of revelation.Perhaps such as the moment when that nice Mr Dyson invented that airblade hot air dryer that really worked, didn’t give us 3rd degree burns requiring hospitalisation and didn’t consume the electricity normally required for a entire street of houses or destroy another hectare of forest for paper towels, just for drying one’s hands.
My lightbulb moments more recently have been, well quite simply put, when buying light bulbs. Buying light bulbs used to be a really simple process….you went to your local hardware store and said ‘please can I have a lightbulb.’ …..their response was yes …40w, 60w or 100w ? If you were some trendy arty type with a light fitting bought holidaying in Paris you might proudly request ‘my latest addition is a lamp I just found in an antique shop on the rive-gauche, so it has to be screw fitting , not bayonet. Its continental you know!’There it is, simple process. But not now…you now need to know a bulb shape number..so you confidently ask for an e27.
Like a verbal tennis match your volley will get sent back over the net to you with questions …LED? or Halogen?No matter how swift your answer…more questions fired back to you….what brightness…1800 lumens or 2000 lumens? …answer this question and immediately a demand of what tone…warm white? or cool? …and so on until you give up or just produce the old bulb from your pocket and say , another of these please .But it’s not just light bulb buying that requires a post graduate diploma or doctorate in the given subject. Until a few years ago when buying a coffee in a cafe ( we now of course give them a promoted title of coffee shop or bistro) the most complicated question you would get is ‘ do you want milk with that?’
Now it’s a different story. If you don’t know your latte, from americano, cappuccino, machiatto, espresso, flat white or macho it can be an anxious moment in the queue. Questions on size are also asked …now most of us understand big or small, but start using terms such as Grande, tall or medium and confusion reigns on the hierarchy of sizing. Milk…hot? or cold? sort of make sense, but there will be an expectation on you to state the fat content you want (skimmed, semi-skinned, full) and then of course do you want your milk from a cow, coconut, soy beans or almonds.And finally they want to know your name to write on the cup!
I just give mine as ‘confused’ ..seems to certainly clear me a space and get me a seat when my name is called out!
Guess what…I think next time I will just have a coke.
Yes, I know…diet or zero or regular? Cherry coke, twist of lemon coke or lime coke?And finally the statement ..sorry actually it’s not coke, it’s Pepsi…is that ok for you?
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Hah! Lightbulbs! How many times have I stood in bewilderment in front of the light bulb shelf?
The thing is (as well) that none of them seem to be as good as the old tungsten bulbs which actually delivered a light you could read by. These days I am forced to use my Kindle Paperwhite which I have to charge up (using electricity by the way) if I want to read in the evening or in bed. And here’s another thing … LED lights! I have a LED torch which came with a warning not to look directly at the bulb. Meanwhile car manufacturers are increasingly fitting those retina-searing LED headlights into their vehicles. It’s not joined-up thinking is what I’m thinking!!
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….and the cost of a lightbulb…wowzer!!!!
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