Keep in mind that Thomas Edison’s first incandescent lightbulb came only 75 years before I was born. So 1954 is a little more than halfway to when we are now.

But, in 1954, it would have been hard for my parents to imagine there would be anything other than the kind of bulb that lasted a few months, at best, when you screwed it into a lamp or ceiling fixture.

Or that light bulbs would become political footballs.

The biggest problem with old incandescent bulbs was their relative inefficiency – only about 5% of the energy used to power those bulbs lit a room; the rest was just heat. And not only did they waste electricity, but you needed to replace them often – lightbulbs came in packs of four and six because one was never enough.

Starting in the 1980s, the compact fluorescent bulb – those tubey things – came out to offer far more efficient lighting. But they contained mercury, making them a problem for landfills. In the 2000s, the LED bulb, even more efficient and less of a waste hazard, took hold.

LED lamps last up to 100 times longer than incandescent bulbs – with the added bonus that, with some of them, you can make them change colors.

And the energy they save is considerable. According to the Department of Energy, U.S. electricity usage declined in several of the years before the COVID pandemic as people replaced incandescents with LEDs. Usage is climbing again primarily because computers, not lights, have become larger consumers of energy.

Not everybody loves this. In 2019, the Trump administration rescinded rules that would have accelerated adoption of LED bulbs. They don’t think the light they get is the same brightness — or something.

Which reminds me of a joke.