Strangest fear: I am terrified of lightbulbs

[retta283]

I had to replace a lightbulb today and it made me thing about posting this here. For some reason I am very scared of working with lightbulbs. When they are on and working I don't think about it, but when I have to turn them on/off or switch them out I get anxious. I believe this is due to some experiences I had when I was younger.

First, my father purchased the wrong bulbs for my light in my childhood bedroom. They functioned, but would die quickly, and when they died they would pop and flash brightly. This would always scare me, and it happened frequently. It took a long time to realize that the bulbs were incorrect. Secondly, when I got my first apartment I was cleaning the bathroom, and I didn't turn the bulbs off while I was cleaning and I accidentally shattered one. Yet again it gave me a good scare.

I have never really gotten over the fear, but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I still am cautious when flicking the switch in the fear the bulbs will explode again. Don't switch them out often so that's not a huge problem.

If anybody else has a similar strange fear and is willing to, I'd be interested in hearing it.

 

[jbarley]

I had to replace a lightbulb today and it made me thing about posting this here. For some reason I am very scared of working with lightbulbs. When they are on and working I don't think about it, but when I have to turn them on/off or switch them out I get anxious. I believe this is due to some experiences I had when I was younger.

First, my father purchased the wrong bulbs for my light in my childhood bedroom. They functioned, but would die quickly, and when they died they would pop and flash brightly. This would always scare me, and it happened frequently. It took a long time to realize that the bulbs were incorrect. Secondly, when I got my first apartment I was cleaning the bathroom, and I didn't turn the bulbs off while I was cleaning and I accidentally shattered one. Yet again it gave me a good scare.

I have never really gotten over the fear, but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I still am cautious when flicking the switch in the fear the bulbs will explode again. Don't switch them out often so that's not a huge problem.

If anybody else has a similar strange fear and is willing to, I'd be interested in hearing it.

Not really an answer to your question but more a solution to your problem.
Change your lightbulbs out for the newer LED types and problem solved.
They virtually last forever and if they do fail which has yet to happen for me, I beleive they don't pop!

 

[ejb190]

My wife has a hatred of the number 10. If something is 10 for $10 at the grocery store - she'll get 11. Checkout lane number 10? Nope. And heaven forbid you set the volume on the car radio to 10. Of course she was in a near fatal car accident at 10:10 am on October 10th, 1997, so I can't be too hard on her!

 

[Gutwrench]

If anybody else has a similar strange fear and is willing to, I'd be interested in hearing it.

I read somewhere that it’s true: your underwear can kill you.

Therefore, I’m scared of my underwear.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I had a fear of lightbulbs as a kid. Those damn lightly glassed incandescent lightbulbs loved to pop loudly when they went out, often leaving me in the dark as a kid. I was terrified of the dark as a kid.

Had a few instances where I threw a stuffed animal at family and it hit a light bulb, shattering with a loud pop. Yep, I don't like those things.

LEDs and CFLs have pretty much cured me of that (and I no longer fear the dark). Really like warm light LEDs.

In all fairness, I feared the Borg way more than lightbulbs tho... (as a kid).

 

[retta283]

I had a fear of lightbulbs as a kid. Those damn lightly glassed incandescent lightbulbs loved to pop loudly when they went out, often leaving me in the dark as a kid. I was terrified of the dark as a kid.

Had a few instances where I threw a stuffed animal at family and it hit a light bulb, shattering with a loud pop. Yep, I don't like those things.

LEDs and CFLs have pretty much cured me of that (and I no longer fear the dark). Really like warm light LEDs.

In all fairness, I feared the Borg way more than lightbulbs tho... (as a kid).

The one in our basement almost killed me once. Since the switch was so obscured I would just use the cord on the light to turn it out, but I usually had to stand on a chair to switch the bulb out. So after I switched it out I pulled the cord and the bulb popped louder than any one in my room had. Startled me so badly that I fell, luckily I was able to partially break my fall so I didn't hit my head on the concrete. That incident definitely contributed to my continued fear.

 

[spooklog]

I would also strongly suggest you switch to the new LED light bulbs. Aside from having a very long life, they are designed and built to be far less fragile than incandescent bulbs. I suspect a lot of your fear stems from the bulb shattering/breaking in some way--with LED bulbs this isn't much of an issue.

Take care.

 

[retta283]

I would also strongly suggest you switch to the new LED light bulbs. Aside from having a very long life, they are designed and built to be far less fragile than incandescent bulbs. I suspect a lot of your fear stems from the bulb shattering/breaking in some way--with LED bulbs this isn't much of an issue.

Take care.

I think I'll take a look at some when I am out today. I tried LED bulbs before and I found them to be much darker than regular bulbs. That was a while ago though so I could've gotten the wrong brightness, or perhaps the early ones just weren't as bright. Doesn't hurt to try though.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Costco has the best warm light bulbs. Not sure where you're hailing from but usually going name brand with LED helps a lot. What's nice about LED is that since they're cooler than incandescent you can put higher wattage equivalents in the same lamps (at least I do) (all the while they use 7-12 watts).

 

[Huntn]

I hate it when I unscrew a burned out light bulb and and top seperates from the bottom. Then I have to take a needle nose pliers and grab the base and unscrew it. This with the power off to the fixture.
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Costco has the best warm light bulbs. Not sure where you're hailing from but usually going name brand with LED helps a lot. What's nice about LED is that since they're cooler than incandescent you can put higher wattage equivalents in the same lamps (at least I do) (all the while they use 7-12 watts).

And prices on those bulbs are falling.

 

[ejb190]

I hate it when I unscrew a burned out light bulb and and top seperates from the bottom. Then I have to take a needle nose pliers and grab the base and unscrew it. This with the power off to the fixture.

Careful with that. If the socket was wired backwards, the base will be hot! I've run into that more than once! Best kill the breaker if you have any doubt at all!

 

[maxjohnson2]

I don't like having to replace these circular fluorescent bulbs even though I've done it many times. Not the bulbs themselves but the metal clips that hold them in place. I guess some units are easier than others, and generally it's just an easy pull, but in older buildings since they are sold old they clamps a bit tight and the bulbs haven't been changed for such a long time they become brittle, and so risk glass exploding into your eyes if you break the bulb while removing.

 

[faust]

I am deathly afraid of public spaces, especially when they’re crowded. My ability to function quickly deteriorates in such spaces. And I must do what I must as quickly as possible. I then go back to my car and spend 20-30 minutes calming down before heading home.

 

[Gregg2]

I hate it when I unscrew a burned out light bulb and and top seperates from the bottom. Then I have to take a needle nose pliers and grab the base and unscrew it. This with the power off to the fixture.

I do that without cutting power to the fixture.

I recently put in some LED bulbs. (I had been using compact fluorescents.) One bulb is temporarily going "out" and has been doing this for several weeks. I've placed a new one in the room so in case it goes out and leaves me in the dark, I can put it in right away. Anyway, is this sudden dimming a sign the bulb is dying? Is this common with LEDs?

 

[velocityg4]

Not really an answer to your question but more a solution to your problem.
Change your lightbulbs out for the newer LED types and problem solved.
They virtually last forever and if they do fail which has yet to happen for me, I beleive they don't pop!

Get some Cree bulbs from Home Depot. Then you can experience an LED fail. I switched everything to the Cree LED about four years ago. As they were on sale and LED were still pretty pricey. Most of them died within a year a few lasted two years. Only one still works because it is in a lamp which is hardly ever used. I switched to Philips and haven't had one fail since.

 

[eyoungren]

I had to replace a lightbulb today and it made me thing about posting this here. For some reason I am very scared of working with lightbulbs. When they are on and working I don't think about it, but when I have to turn them on/off or switch them out I get anxious. I believe this is due to some experiences I had when I was younger.

First, my father purchased the wrong bulbs for my light in my childhood bedroom. They functioned, but would die quickly, and when they died they would pop and flash brightly. This would always scare me, and it happened frequently. It took a long time to realize that the bulbs were incorrect. Secondly, when I got my first apartment I was cleaning the bathroom, and I didn't turn the bulbs off while I was cleaning and I accidentally shattered one. Yet again it gave me a good scare.

I have never really gotten over the fear, but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I still am cautious when flicking the switch in the fear the bulbs will explode again. Don't switch them out often so that's not a huge problem.

If anybody else has a similar strange fear and is willing to, I'd be interested in hearing it.

Learning to use no more than the max wattage was my problem as a teen.

I exceeded the wattage once with a cheap plastic clip lamp. 100W bulb in a max 60W fixture. It didn't pop, but it sure melted the black facia of the lamp onto the bulb. That's when I learned to pay attention to wattages.

It's very rare when they pop on me. Usually, I just find them already dead. Yesterday I had to swap one out on the ceiling fan in the front room. There's a dead on in the bedroom I have to take care of as well.

None of that bothers me.

The possibility of getting electrocuted on the other hand, while remote, makes me handle things carefully when power is on.

Dealing with CRTs and PSUs has me extremely careful. My father was an electrical engineer and he passed along the knowledge of how those things, unproperly discharged can kill you.

 

[MattG]

Not really an answer to your question but more a solution to your problem.
Change your lightbulbs out for the newer LED types and problem solved.
They virtually last forever and if they do fail which has yet to happen for me, I beleive they don't pop!

And, most are made of plastic instead of glass so, no shattering

 

[retta283]

Learning to use no more than the max wattage was my problem as a teen.

I exceeded the wattage once with a cheap plastic clip lamp. 100W bulb in a max 60W fixture. It didn't pop, but it sure melted the black facia of the lamp onto the bulb. That's when I learned to pay attention to wattages.

It's very rare when they pop on me. Usually, I just find them already dead. Yesterday I had to swap one out on the ceiling fan in the front room. There's a dead on in the bedroom I have to take care of as well.

None of that bothers me.

The possibility of getting electrocuted on the other hand, while remote, makes me handle things carefully when power is on.

Dealing with CRTs and PSUs has me extremely careful. My father was an electrical engineer and he passed along the knowledge of how those things, unproperly discharged can kill you.

I have not worked on many CRTs, and I've never opened a power supply. Too scared of getting either killed, or being disabled for the rest of my life. In most cases the risk is not worth the money.

 

[eyoungren]

I have not worked on many CRTs, and I've never opened a power supply. Too scared of getting either killed, or being disabled for the rest of my life. In most cases the risk is not worth the money.

The problem is 'knowing' it's discharged.

I safely worked on the PSU of my old Quicksilver to replace the fan. But I 'knew' it was discharged because I had disconnected it from power and then pressed the power button.

Still, I merely cut, stripped and spliced wires for the fan rather than tried to get the connector off the board.

 

[Huntn]

Careful with that. If the socket was wired backwards, the base will be hot! I've run into that more than once! Best kill the breaker if you have any doubt at all!

I always am. With a plug in lamp turned off, that is normally a safe bet and my pliers have rubber handles.
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I do that without cutting power to the fixture.

I recently put in some LED bulbs. (I had been using compact fluorescents.) One bulb is temporarily going "out" and has been doing this for several weeks. I've placed a new one in the room so in case it goes out and leaves me in the dark, I can put it in right away. Anyway, is this sudden dimming a sign the bulb is dying? Is this common with LEDs?

Usually cutting power is just throwing the switch for me.
The LEDs we have installed are supposed to have 20 year life spans so I’ve not had an opportunity to observe their end of life behavior.

 

[bunnspecial]

I tried LED bulbs before and I found them to be much darker than regular bulbs.

Are you sure they were LEDs?

Between the "instant on" effect of them and the cooler(whiter) color temperature, a lot of times they are perceived as brighter than a supposedly comparable incandescent. As mentioned also, you can install one much brighter than the incandescent rating-i.e. many small table lamps are rated for a 60W incandescent. It's perfectly safe to fit an LED that is as bright as a 100W incandescent since the LED has an actual power usage of ~10-15W.

I still like incandescents for certain applications, but have switched a lot of mine out for LEDs. Now that "warm" LEDs are available with a color temperature similar to incandescent, I'm somewhat more motivated to switch.

The "curly" type compact fluorescents(CFLs) were, at best, a stop gap and made many people dislike non-incandescent lamps. Among other things, they can take anywhere from a couple of seconds to a couple of minutes to reach full operating brightness(they can be terrible if the light is cold, such as in the garage in the winter or in a closet on an outside wall). Also, they can have weird color temperatures and often a "notchy" spectrum that gives weird color rendition. They can shift color dramatically as they approach EOL. Often times, the ballasts in the base(the "magic" that makes them work) are a cheap design with poor cooling, and this as much as anything else can both shorten their life and make them fail rather spectacularly. In incandescent "popping" has never scared me, but a CFL letting the "magic smoke" out of the base always does.

 

[Plutonius]

I read somewhere that it’s true: your underwear can kill you.

Therefore, I’m scared of my underwear.

I'm also scared of your underwear .

 

[Erehy Dobon]

.

 

[retta283]

Of course when I was in the store yesterday I forgot to look... I'll be sure to write it down for next time.

I am almost certain they were LED bulbs, I think I kept the unused ones but I'm not sure where they would be.

 

[b0fh666]

what an interesting topic, even down here @ the 4th world nobody uses tungsten bulbs for at least a decade.

compact fluorescents at first (still have some working for several years) and now LED.

on the original issue... yes they can give you a scare, esp. the big ones. air eventually gets in and allows the filament to burn