Interesting Facts

According to a freedom of information request, the Metropolitan Police in London spend up to £100 every time a light-bulb needs changing. (A maintenance firm is paid this amount if a light-bulb " urgently " needs replacing. In "non-urgent" cases it costs a mere £26. I think I have found my new calling. I've always wanted to bring more light into the world.)

How many Heathrow workers does it take to change a light-bulb? (The answer is - none, because since opening in 2008, not a single bulb has been replaced in terminal 5's departure lounge at Heathrow. In some areas up to 60 per cent of the lights have blown, but they haven't been replaced because there is no safe way to reach them. The people who designed the terminal, which cost £4.5billion, appear to have overlooked basic maintenance, light-bulbs need to be changed, and some of them are positioned 120ft above the ground. I would have thought pulleys and lifts would have been on the specs, but seemingly not. They have tried cherry-pickers and hydraulic boom lifts to replace the downlighters, but none were deemed to be practical or safe enough, and now, a team of specialist wire walkers has been given the job of stopping the lights from going out completely. It will take four months and cost millions of pounds. I wonder if they will play circus music whilst they ...

To mark Earth Day 2012, a new kind of light-bulb is going on sale in the US. (What makes this light-bulb different is that it lasts for 20 years. They are made by Dutch electronics firm Philips. The bulb swaps filaments for light-emitting diodes to provide illumination. Using LEDs endows the light with a long life. The downside is the hefty price tag; the first versions are set to cost $60 (£37). Why is being green always so expensive?)