Why does the idea feel so stubbornly true? It’s partly because we associate light with warmth—think of a cozy fireplace or a sunrise. But it’s also a cultural echo from the era of incandescent bulbs. Our parents and grandparents grew up with hot glass bulbs that could actually burn your fingertips.
There’s a lovely Seinfeld episode where Jerry obsesses over a single flickering bulb, but the real humor is in how we treat light as a guilty pleasure. We turn off lights to “save energy” while ignoring the fridge, the oven, or the electronics that actually heat the room.
Fun fact: a single desktop computer running for an hour produces more heat than a dozen LED bulbs on for the same time. So blame the Netflix binge, not the lamp.
