By Chris Scott Barr

Changing a lightbulb is rarely an exciting task, unless you’re trying to solve one of those age old questions such as “how many drummers does it take to change a lightbulb?” questions. (The answer is 1, if the drummer brings you a ladder.) So it’s only natural that companies are always trying to make bulbs that last longer and longer. Well now Panasonic is touting a new LED bulb that will last a whopping 19 years.

Can you imagine putting new bulbs in your infant’s room and not having to change them until they’re already in college? What’s even better is that this 60-watt equivalent bulb will only cost around $3 per year (as opposed to around $26 for a standard incandescent bulb) to operate. Even at $40 a pop, these things will definitely pay for themselves in the long-run. Unfortunately they’ve only been announced for Japan, hopefully we’ll be getting them over here before long.

[ Panasonic ] VIA [ Dvice ]

By Jonathan Kimak

This concept lightbulb seems kind of neat. Designers Hyun Jin Yoon & Eun Hak Lee came up with the idea to create a lightbulb that can pop-up from a piece of cardboard. What’s more is the lightbulb itself is also made of cardboard.

Simply flip up the cardboard cut-out and the lightbulb turns on emitting a tiny light. The bulb is powered by a tiny battery cell. The cut-outs would be small enough(53mm by 86mm) and flat enough to fit in a regular sized wallet.

So anytime you need a little light you could just crack open one of these.

Of course there are already millions of flashlights and glow sticks that can do the exact same thing but still, I wouldn’t mind seeing one of these in action if they ever get made.

[ Pocket Light ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]