Q: How many historical novelists does it take to change a light bulb?A: Well, that depends on which light bub you mean. Do you mean the absolute first one? That was in 1850. Joseph Swan used carbonized filaments. They burned out pretty quickly, so you'd need plenty of people ready to change it. Swan registered the first UK patent for a covering a partial vacuum, carbon filament incandescent lamp. The first light bulb using a tungsten filament that was hardier and did not burn out so frequently was invented by Thomas Edison in 1878. It only required one person to change it. That was good for Edison, who was a pretty mean customer, I can tell you. He didn't want a lot of people hanging around to see what he was up to.
It makes quite a story. Let me tell you all about it... Once upon a time...
CONTEST!
Create a historical joke using the familiar joke line "How many ____ does it take to change a light bulb?" and provide the funny or ironic or downright silly answer. Email to Kit at christopherhmoss@gmail.com with the subject line "History Joke". You have until April 15.. shouldn't be too taxing. We will post all the entries and ask for votes. Prize? A t-shirt with "Historically Off Center" printed on it.
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