Shining A Light On Light-bulb Cartels
Have you ever thought how strange it is that in the last twenty or so years there was a huge jump in bulb technology, but before then it hadn’t changed since its inception? How could they have made so many leaps and bounds from the beginning, then just sort of stalled out where they were? Would you believe there was a light-bulb cartel?
This is no conspiracy theory. Once the bulb was developed, the big names in electrical technology colluded together, confirmed a designed, and sold it to the public despite the fact that they could make bulbs cheaper, better, and more efficient! They knew that they could make them, but they didn’t see the bottom line in it. In fact, they even set the number of hours the bulbs should last!
The only reason the bulbs started development again- absent the brilliant minds that made them- was because of WWII. The war disrupted the cartels ability to coordinate on a dime, and so they could not longer set prices and development as they had before. It still took a long time for the companies to shake their dependence on old habits however.
Read more about the cartel here: Lightbulb Cartel a Dark Spot in Lighting History.
