U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for October 21

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21: LIGHT BULB DEMONSTRATED

Profile America — Thursday, October 21st.  An invention was demonstrated on this date in 1879 that changed the way Americans lived — and, ultimately, most of the world.  At his Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratories, Thomas Edison set up the first incandescent light bulb, which burned for almost 14 hours.  Within a few years, some cities had installed electric street lights.  The number of homes across the U.S. with electricity grew steadily, but even in 1940 more than one-in-five houses was without power.  The last farms were electrified in the 1950s.  Today, the average home has an increasing number of electrical appliances and uses just over 11,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year.  The average bill for this power is $1,256 annually.  Profile America is in its 14th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2010, p. 528

Current Housing Report H121/94-1

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t. 917

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau