This is why we can't have nice things

Summary

视频讲述了一个关于产品如汽车、手机和灯泡等因实际阴谋而变得更糟的故事。视频由NordVPN赞助。在加利福尼亚州利弗莫尔消防站六号，有一个灯泡自1901年以来已经亮了120年。这个灯泡的长寿引发了关于灯泡寿命的讨论。20世纪初，灯泡的寿命曾逐渐增长，但在1924年，几家主要灯泡制造商在日内瓦秘密会面，形成了所谓的Phoebus卡特尔，商定将灯泡寿命缩短至1000小时，以增加销量和利润。这种做法导致了计划性过时的概念，至今仍被许多公司采用。视频还提到了苹果公司因限制产品寿命而面临诉讼，以及消费者如何通过“维修权”立法反击计划性过时。最后，视频强调了技术过时与设计过时的区别，并以NordVPN赞助信息结束。

Takeaways

• 🚗 视频中提到了汽车、手机和灯泡等产品，以及一个让这些产品变得更糟糕的阴谋。
• 🌟 视频由NordVPN赞助，将在视频末尾提供更多信息。
• 💡 世界上持续亮着时间最长的灯泡位于利弗莫尔消防站六号，已经亮了120年。
• 🛠️ 这个灯泡是手工制造的，并且运行时间超过了一百万年，远超过现代灯泡的预期寿命。
• 🤔 主持人最初怀疑有关永续灯泡的传说，但后来发现这是真实的。
• 🔥 灯泡的工作原理是电流通过材料使其发热发光，但大部分能量转化为热量。
• 🕰️ 在1924年，世界领先的灯泡公司在瑞士日内瓦秘密会面，形成了所谓的Phoebus卡特尔。
• 💡 Phoebus卡特尔的公司同意将灯泡的寿命限制在1000小时，以增加销量。
• 📉 卡特尔成立后，灯泡的平均寿命开始减少，到1934年平均寿命仅为1205小时。
• 💸 尽管成本下降，卡特尔成员通过保持价格不变来增加利润率。
• 🔍 Phoebus卡特尔声称其目的是提高灯泡的标准化和效率，但实际上是为了利润和增加销量。
• 📉 卡特尔最终在1930年代解体，但计划性过时（planned obsolescence）的策略一直延续至今。
• 📱 苹果公司因限制产品寿命而面临诉讼和罚款，但这种做法仍在继续。
• 👗 计划性过时的概念可以追溯到大萧条时期，当时有人提出通过强制计划性过时来刺激经济。
• 🎬 电影《白衣男子》讲述了一个发明完美纤维的科学家的故事，该纤维不会染色、破损或磨损。
• 🔄 消费者开始反对计划性过时，欧盟和美国超过25个州提出了保障维修权的立法。
• 📱 苹果公司通过每年推出新款式、新颜色和边际技术改进来加速产品的过时。
• 💡 灯泡技术在过去20年中从白炽灯发展到紧凑型荧光灯，再到LED，这些新技术的灯泡使用更少的能源，寿命更长。
• 🎨 设计和风格上的微小变化足以提醒消费者他们没有最新最好的产品，促使他们不断购买。
• 👕 通用汽车通过每年推出新颜色和款式的汽车来加速产品过时，这一策略后来被苹果公司采用。

Q & A

为什么世界上持续亮着时间最长的灯泡位于利弗莫尔消防站六号？

这个灯泡位于利弗莫尔消防站六号，因为它自1901年以来已经连续亮了120年，没有连接到开关，但有备用电池和发电机确保其持续亮着。

灯泡的最长寿命是如何实现的？

这个灯泡是在商业灯泡刚发明后不久手工制造的，它已经运行了超过一百万小时，远远超过了今天灯泡的预期寿命。

为什么过去的灯泡比现在的更耐用？

过去的灯泡设计和制造时没有受到计划性过时的影响，而现代灯泡往往因为计划性过时而设计得寿命更短。

什么是福玻斯卡特尔，它与灯泡寿命缩短有什么关系？

福玻斯卡特尔是1924年在瑞士日内瓦成立的一个秘密组织，由世界上主要的灯泡公司高管组成，他们同意合作控制全球灯泡供应，并将灯泡寿命人为减少到1000小时，以增加销量。

卡特尔如何确保成员遵守规定的灯泡寿命限制？

卡特尔通过测试成员公司送来的样本灯泡来执行1000小时的限制，如果灯泡寿命显著超过1000小时，公司将被罚款。

灯泡的寿命是如何被缩短的？

工程师们尝试了不同的材料、不同形状的灯丝和更薄的连接，成功地缩短了灯泡的寿命。

计划性过时对消费者有什么影响？

计划性过时意味着消费者需要更频繁地购买新产品，这不仅增加了消费者的经济负担，而且导致了更多的电子垃圾。

为什么一些公司和经济学家支持计划性过时？

在经济大萧条时期，一些经济学家和商人认为计划性过时可以创造就业机会，刺激消费，从而帮助经济复苏。

苹果公司如何实践计划性过时？

苹果公司通过软件更新限制旧设备的性能，使得设备更快地显得过时，促使消费者购买新产品。

什么是“维修权”立法，它如何对抗计划性过时？

“维修权”立法旨在迫使制造商提供维修信息和零件，使消费者能够在第三方维修店修理产品，而不影响保修，这有助于延长产品的使用寿命。

为什么说技术过时是我们唯一应该支持的过时类型？

技术过时意味着产品通过创新得到了改进，为消费者带来了更好的性能和效率，这是积极的，与仅仅为了销售而人为制造的产品过时不同。

LED灯泡与传统的白炽灯泡相比有哪些优势？

LED灯泡使用的能源仅为白炽灯泡的十分之一，并且寿命可以达到10到50倍长，这意味着它们几乎不需要更换，从而减少了浪费。

Outlines

00:00

💡 百年灯泡与阴谋论

这段视频讲述了一个关于汽车、手机和灯泡等产品的故事，以及一个使这些产品变糟的阴谋论。视频由NordVPN赞助，将在视频末尾介绍。视频主持人站在利弗莫尔消防站六号外，介绍了一个自1901年以来已经亮了120年的灯泡，它是由手工制造的，并且运行时间超过一百万年，远超过现代灯泡的预期寿命。视频中提出了一个问题：为什么这个灯泡能持续这么长时间？随后，视频探讨了一个关于永恒灯泡的传说，即有人发明了一种永远不需要更换的灯泡，但由于商业模型的问题而没有销售。视频主持人最初认为这个故事荒谬，但后来发现事实并非如此。视频还回顾了电灯泡的发展历史，包括沃伦·德拉鲁在1840年代提出将灯丝置于真空灯泡中的想法，以及随后的发明家们如何逐步提高灯泡的寿命。然而，到了1920年代初，灯泡的寿命不再延长，反而开始缩短。这是因为1924年在瑞士日内瓦举行的一次秘密会议，世界上主要的灯泡公司高管聚集在一起，形成了所谓的Phoebus卡特尔，他们同意通过控制灯泡的世界供应来互相帮助。这个卡特尔面临的最大威胁是寿命更长的灯泡，因为灯泡寿命的延长侵蚀了销售。因此，卡特尔中的所有公司同意将他们的灯泡寿命减少到1000小时，几乎减半了现有的平均寿命。为了确保每个公司都遵守规则，制造寿命更短的灯泡，他们设立了一个测试站，测试样品灯泡，如果灯泡寿命显著超过1000小时，公司将被罚款。

05:04

🔧 计划性淘汰的起源与影响

这段视频继续讲述了Phoebus卡特尔如何通过改变材料、灯丝形状和连接的厚度来成功减少灯泡的寿命。数据显示，自从卡特尔成立以来，灯泡的寿命稳步下降，到1934年，平均寿命仅为1205小时。正如他们计划的那样，卡特尔成员的销售在1926年之后的四年里增加了25%。尽管组件成本下降，但卡特尔保持价格基本不变，从而增加了他们的利润率。视频还探讨了人们是否知道灯泡公司在合谋使产品更糟，以及Phoebus卡特尔如何声称其目的是增加灯泡的标准化和效率。然而，所有证据都指向卡特尔的动机是利润和增加销售，而不是消费者的最佳利益。视频还提到了计划性淘汰的概念，这是Casey Neistat在2003年的第一个病毒视频的主题，该视频获得了数百万的观看，并引发了一场集体诉讼，苹果公司在庭外和解，但这并没有阻止公司继续实行计划性淘汰。2017年iOS更新后，旧iPhone用户发现应用程序加载速度显著变慢或设备完全关闭。苹果公司表示，他们限制了旧设备的性能以保护电池并延长其寿命。当然，如果电池可以更换，那就不会有问题。2020年结束的一系列诉讼中，苹果公司被罚款或达成和解，支付了数亿美元。然而，这与他们通过限制产品寿命产生的额外收入相比微不足道。视频还讨论了计划性淘汰是否不仅仅是贪婪，而且对每个人都有好处的观点。例如，在1930年代的大萧条期间，当多达1/4的美国人失业时，房地产经纪人伯纳德·伦敦提出了强制性计划性淘汰作为让人们重返工作岗位并使美国走出大萧条的一种方式。

10:04

🚗 动态淘汰与时尚的循环

这段视频讲述了如何通过设计和风格来创造一种紧迫感，促使人们不断购买新产品。视频以一部1951年的电影《穿白衣服的男人》为例，讲述了一位科学家发明了一种完美的纤维，这种纤维不会染色、破损或磨损。最初，每个人都对这位英雄的科学发现感到兴奋。他用这种线制作了一套衣服，必须是白色的，因为这种纤维如此耐污，甚至不能染色。但当工厂老板意识到他们无法销售这么多这种线，因为它太耐用了，工人们担心它会让他们失业时，麻烦就开始了。在高潮场景中，工厂工人和工厂老板联合起来追捕科学家，以摧毁他和他的发明。令人难以置信的是，这部电影可能受到了真实事件的启发。在1940年代，合成纤维尼龙取代了长筒袜中的丝绸，它非常耐用，以至于产品一夜之间成为了轰动。当制造商意识到他们制作的产品太好时，他们没有销毁纤维，但确实效仿了Phoebus卡特尔的做法。他们指示他们的工程师和科学家找到缩短产品寿命的方法，以便人们不得不购买更多。现在，消费者似乎终于开始反击计划性淘汰。在欧盟和美国超过25个州，有提议的立法，以确立维修权。这些法律将迫使制造商使维修产品变得更容易。他们必须提供信息和零件的访问权限。所以，如果维修权成为法律，那是否意味着人为淘汰将永远消失？遗憾的是，并非如此，因为制造商可以使用最后一件事来使他们的产品过时，那就是你。视频以亨利·福特在1908年发布的第一款大众市场汽车Model T为例，他设想它像一匹工作马，一种负担得起的工具，不会磨损，有点像永恒的灯泡。但到了1920年，55%的美国家庭已经拥有一辆汽车。几乎所有能负担得起的人都有了一辆。同年，还有一次小型经济衰退导致福特和通用汽车的销售下降。1921年，杜邦公司，这家化学品和油漆公司接管了通用汽车的控股权。他们开始尝试用不同的颜色给汽车上色，直到那时，亨利·福特曾说，你可以喜欢任何颜色，只要是黑色。经过几年的测试，但在1924年，GM发布了他们的第一辆不同颜色的汽车。不久之后，他们引入了一个现在非常熟悉的技巧。每年，他们都会推出不同颜色的汽车。目标不仅仅是让福特的Model T看起来过时，而是让他们自己的汽车每年都感觉过时，鼓励客户用旧车换新车。几年后，GM的首席设计师哈雷·厄尔坦率地讨论了他在创造他所谓的动态淘汰中的作用。我们的主要工作是加速淘汰。在1934年，平均汽车拥有期限是五年。现在，到了1955年，是两年。当它变成一年时，我们将获得完美的分数。当他说这话时，通用汽车是世界上最有价值的公司，它每年在美国购买的所有车辆中销售了一半。如今，世界上最有价值的公司苹果，似乎直接从这个剧本中抄袭。我的意思是，每年都有新款式，每年都有新特别颜色，每年都有边际技术改进。我的意思是，这是有用的创新还是只是一个噱头？通用汽车和苹果的灵感来自时尚界，那里真正的创新几乎是不可能的。所以唯一的方法是让人们感到紧迫感，走出去购买，就是创造只持续一个季节的风格。然后问题是你太快地用完这些风格。然后你应该怎么做？好吧，只是回收几十年前的风格。iPhone也显示了这种回收趋势。我的意思是，看看边缘最初是圆形的，然后它们被弄平了，然后又变圆了，现在，它们又被弄平了。你敢打赌iPhone 14的边缘是圆的吗？我认为关键是，有了设计和风格，

15:05

🌟 技术革新与LED灯泡的持久性

这段视频讨论了技术革新与设计趋势之间的关系，并以灯泡为例说明了技术革新的重要性。在过去的20年里，灯泡已经从白炽灯（基本上100年来没有变化）发展到紧凑型荧光灯，现在又发展到了LED灯。这些LED灯只使用十分之一的能量，并且可以持续10到50倍的时间。这意味着你更有可能卖掉你的房子，而不是需要更换你安装的LED灯泡。因此，我们终于达到了基本上是永恒灯泡的地步。视频最后提到了NordVPN的赞助，并介绍了主持人在一档他非常喜欢的英国电视节目《QI》中的一集，该节目强烈推荐，并且可以在Netflix上观看，但仅限于英国。视频指出，电视和电影仍然被困在过时的商业模式中，他们将世界划分为广播领域，这在信息可以通过互联网自由流动的时代没有太多意义。幸运的是，使用NordVPN，任何人都可以将他们的位置设置为英国，并观看他们喜欢的任何内容。如果你对不同国家的流媒体提供的内容感兴趣，你可以在nordvpn.com/veritasium上获得为期两年的计划的巨大折扣。使用代码Veritasium可以获得额外的一个月免费使用，并且使用NordVPN，你还可以通过掩盖你的IP地址来保护你的隐私。事实上，你可以改变你的IP两次，以额外的安全层覆盖你的网络流量。NordVPN有不记录政策，他们不跟踪、收集或分享你的私人数据，这是世界上许多大公司目前正在尝试做的事情。因此，为了在浏览时保护隐私和获取全世界节目的访问权，请前往nordvpn.com/veritasium获取为期两年的计划的巨大折扣，并使用代码Veritasium获得额外的一个月免费使用。这一切都是无风险的，拥有Nord的30天退款保证。最后，视频感谢NordVPN对Veritasium的赞助，并感谢观众的观看。

Keywords

💡LED灯

LED灯是一种使用发光二极管作为光源的照明技术，它比传统的白炽灯和荧光灯更加节能和持久。在视频中，LED灯被提及作为技术进步的一个例子，它使用的能量仅为白炽灯的十分之一，并且寿命可以长达10到50倍。这与视频主题有关，即产品的设计和功能如何影响其耐用性和消费者更换产品的频率。

💡计划性淘汰

计划性淘汰是一种商业策略，制造商故意设计产品使其在一定时间后变得过时或无法使用，以促使消费者购买新产品。视频中提到了多个例子，包括苹果公司通过软件更新限制旧款iPhone的性能，以及20世纪初灯泡制造商通过减少灯泡寿命来增加销量。

💡福玻斯卡特尔

福玻斯卡特尔是一个由多家主要灯泡制造商组成的国际垄断组织，它们在1924年达成协议，将灯泡的寿命人为限制在1000小时，以增加销量和利润。这个概念与视频主题紧密相关，因为它揭示了企业如何通过控制产品寿命来操纵市场。

💡白炽灯

白炽灯是一种传统的照明技术，通过电流通过灯丝产生热量使其发光。视频中提到，白炽灯的效率很低，95%的电能转化为热能，只有不到5%转化为光能。白炽灯的设计和效率是视频讨论的焦点之一，特别是在讨论灯泡寿命和计划性淘汰的背景下。

💡动态淘汰

动态淘汰是由通用汽车的设计主管哈雷·厄尔提出的概念，指的是通过每年推出新的设计和颜色，使旧款汽车感觉过时，从而促使消费者购买新款汽车。视频中提到，这种策略后来被苹果公司模仿，通过每年推出新的设计和颜色来促使消费者升级他们的产品。

💡维修权

维修权是指消费者有权自行或通过第三方维修其产品，而不是被迫通过制造商进行维修。视频中提到，欧盟和美国超过25个州正在提出立法，以确立维修权，这将迫使制造商提供维修信息和零部件，使消费者能够在不失去保修的情况下修理产品。

💡NordVPN

NordVPN是一家提供虚拟私人网络服务的公司，它允许用户通过加密连接和更改IP地址来保护其在线隐私和安全。视频中提到NordVPN作为赞助商，并介绍了其服务，包括通过改变用户的位置来访问不同国家的流媒体内容。

💡技术进步

技术进步是指技术的发展和创新，它通常导致产品性能的提高和新功能的引入。视频中讨论了技术进步如何与计划性淘汰相互作用，特别是在灯泡和电子产品的背景下。LED灯的发展是一个例子，它展示了技术进步如何带来更高效和持久的产品。

💡耐用性

耐用性是指产品能够承受使用和时间考验而不损坏的能力。视频中讨论了制造商如何通过减少产品的耐用性来增加销量，同时也提到了消费者对耐用性的需求，以及它如何影响产品的生命周期和消费者的购买决策。

💡设计趋势

设计趋势指的是产品外观设计的变化和流行趋势。视频中提到，苹果公司和其他制造商通过每年推出新的设计和颜色来创造一种紧迫感，促使消费者购买最新的产品。这种策略与时尚行业的操作类似，通过不断变化的风格来推动销售。

Highlights

视频讲述了一些产品如汽车、手机和灯泡因实际阴谋而变得更糟的故事。

视频由NordVPN赞助，更多信息在视频末尾。

利弗莫尔消防局六号拥有世界上持续亮着时间最长的灯泡，已亮120年。

这个灯泡没有连接开关，但有备用电池和发电机。

灯泡是手工制造的，运行超过一百万小时，远比现代灯泡寿命长。

曾有传言称有人发明了永久灯泡，但因商业模式问题未销售。

灯泡的发明历程，从碳丝到钨丝，灯泡寿命逐渐增加。

1924年，世界领先的灯泡公司在瑞士日内瓦秘密会面，形成Phoebus卡特尔。

卡特尔成员同意将灯泡寿命减少至1000小时，以增加销量。

通过测试站对样本灯泡进行测试，确保成员遵守规则。

Phoebus卡特尔通过计划性的产品过时策略，提高利润。

卡特尔声称其目的是提高标准化和效率，但实际上是为了利润。

灯泡之所以能长寿，是因为它在卡特尔时代之前制造，并且一直以低功率运行。

Phoebus卡特尔在1930年代瓦解，但其方法延续至今。

计划性过时现在被许多公司采用，如苹果公司限制产品寿命。

计划性过时不仅被认为贪婪，还被认为对经济有好处。

消费者开始反击计划性过时，立法机构提出“维修权”法案。

设计和风格的变化，促使消费者不断购买新产品。

技术进步是唯一应支持的过时类型，例如LED灯泡的发明。

视频由NordVPN赞助，NordVPN提供隐私保护和内容访问服务。

Transcripts

- This is a video about things like cars,

phones, and light bulbs and an actual conspiracy

that made them worse.

This video was sponsored by NordVPN,

more about them at the end of the video

I am outside Livermore Fire Station, number six.

And in here, they have the longest,

continuously on light bulb in the world.

It has been on for 120 years

since 1901.

There it is.

- [Host] Yeah, that's it.

- It's not even connected to a light switch

but it does have a backup battery and generator.

So the big question is,

how has this light bulb lasted so long?

It was manufactured by hand not long

after commercial light bulbs were first invented,

And yet, it has been running for over a million hours,

way longer than any light bulb today is meant to last.

Awhile back, a friend of mine told me this story,

that someone had invented a light bulb

that would last forever years ago,

but they never sold it

because an everlasting light bulb makes

for a terrible business model.

I mean, you would never have any repeat customers

and eventually you would run out

of people to sell light bulbs to,

I thought this story sounded ridiculous.

If you could make an everlasting light bulb,

then everyone would buy your light bulb

over the competitors.

And so you could charge really high prices,

make a lot of money, even if demand would eventually dry up.

I just couldn't imagine that we had better light bulbs

in the past and then intentionally made them worse,

but it turns out I was wrong.

At least sort of.

Inventing a viable electric light was hard,

I mean, this is the typical incandescent design,

which just involves passing electric current

through a material making it so hot that it glows,

less than 5% of the electrical energy comes out as light.

The other 95% is released as heat.

So these are really heat bulbs,

which give off a little bit of light as a by-product.

The temperature of the filament can get up to 2,800 Kelvin.

That is half as hot as the surface of the sun.

At temperatures like those, most materials melt.

- That's so cool. - And if they don't melt,

they burn,

which is why in the 1840s, Warren De la Rue came

up with the idea of putting the filament in a vacuum bulb,

so there's no oxygen to react with.

By 1879, Thomas Edison had made a bulb

with a cotton thread filament that lasted 14 hours.

Other inventors created bulbs with platinum filaments

or other carbonized materials.

And gradually, the lifespan of bulbs increased.

The filaments changed from carbon to tungsten,

which has a very high melting point.

And by the early 1920s, average bulb lifetimes

were approaching 2,000 hours with some lasting 2,500 hours.

But this is when lifetimes stopped getting longer

and started getting shorter.

In Geneva, Switzerland just before Christmas, 1924,

there was a secret meeting of top executives

from the world's leading light bulb companies,

Phillips, International General Electric,

Tokyo Electric, OSRAM from Germany,

and the UK's Associated Electric among others.

They formed what became known

as the Phoebus Cartel named after Phoebus,

the Greek God of light.

There, all these companies agreed

to work together to help each other

by controlling the world supply of light bulbs.

In the early days of the electrical industry,

there had been lots of different

small light bulb manufacturers,

but by now they had largely been consolidated

into these big corporations,

each dominant in a particular part of the world.

The biggest threat they all faced was

from longer lasting light bulbs.

For example, in 1923, OSRAM sold 63 million light bulbs,

but the following year they sold only 28 million.

Light bulbs were lasting too long, eating into sales.

So all the companies in the cartel agreed

to reduce the lifespan of their bulbs

to 1,000 hours cutting the existing average almost in half.

But how could each company ensure

that the other companies would actually follow the rules

and make shorter lasting light bulb.

After all, it would be in each of their individual interests

to make a better product to outsell the others?

Well, to enforce the 1,000 hour limit,

each of the manufacturers have to send in sample bulbs

from their factories and they were tested on big test stands

like this one.

If a bulb lasted

significantly longer than 1,000 thousand hours,

then the company was fined.

If a bulb lasted longer than 3000 hours,

well the fine was 200 Swiss Francs

for every 1,000 bulbs sold.

And there are records

of these fines being issued to companies.

But how do you make a worst light bulb in the first place?

Well, the same engineers who had previously been tasked

with extending the lifespan now had to find ways

to decrease it.

So they tried different materials,

different shaped filaments, and thinner connections.

And if you look at the data, they were successful.

Ever since the formation of the cartel.

the lifespan of light bulbs steadily decreased.

So that by 1934, the average lifespan was just 1,205 hours.

And just as they had planned, sales increased

for cartel members by 25% in the four years after 1926.

And even though the cost of components came down,

the cartel kept prices virtually unchanged,

so they increased their profit margins.

So did people know that the light bulb companies

were conspiring together to make their products worse?

No, the Phoebus Cartel claimed that its purpose was

to increase standardization and efficiency of light bulbs.

I mean, they did establish this screw thread is standard.

You can find it on virtually all light bulbs

around the world now.

But all evidence points to the cartels being motivated

by profits and increased sales,

not by what was best for consumers.

So one of the reasons this light bulb has lasted so long is

because it was made before the cartel era.

Another reason is because the filament has always been run

at low power, just four or five watts.

It was meant to be a nightlight

for the fire station to provide just enough light

so that firemen wouldn't run into things at night.

And the fact that it was always

on reduced the thermal cycling

of the filament and components limiting the stress caused

by thermal expansion and contraction.

The Phoebus Cartel was initially planned to last

at least until 1955, but it fell apart in the 1930s.

It was already struggling due to outside competition.

And non-compliance amongst some of its members,

but the outbreak of World War II is

really what finished it off.

So this cartel was dead,

but its methods survived to this day.

There are lots of companies out there

that intentionally shortened the lifespan of their products

it's a tactic known now as planned obsolescence.

This was actually the subject of Casey Neistat's

first viral video all the way back in 2003.

- [Support] Thank you for calling Apple, my name is Ryan.

May I have your first name please?

- [Casey] Casey.

- [Support] ] All right, and what seems

to be the issue today?

- [Casey] I have an iPod that I bought about 18 months ago

and the battery is dead on it.

- [Support] 18 months, okay, it's past it year,

which basically means there'll be a charge

of $255 plus a mailing fee to send it to us

to refurbish, to correct it.

But at that price, you might as well go get a new one.

- [Narrator] This video got millions of views

in a time before YouTube or social media.

And it spawned a class action lawsuit,

which Apple settled out of court,

but it didn't stop the company

from practicing planned obsolescence.

After an iOS update in 2017,

users of older iPhones found apps loading

significantly slower or the device shutting down altogether.

Apple said they throttled performance to protect the battery

of older devices and increase their longevity.

Of course, that wouldn't be an issue

if the battery were replaceable.

In a series of lawsuits that concluded in 2020,

Apple was fined or reached settlements

to pay hundreds of millions of dollars,

undoubtedly, this amount pales in comparison

to the extra revenue they generate

by limiting the lifespan of their products.

But some would argue that planned obsolescence isn't

just about greed, but that it's also good for everyone.

During the great depression in the 1930s

when as much as 1/4 of Americans were out of work

and real estate broker Bernard London

proposed mandatory planned obsolescence

as a way to get people back to work

and lift America out of the depression.

He wrote, "I would have the government assign a lease

of life to shoes, and homes, and machines

when they are first created

and they would be sold and used within the term

of their existence, definitely known by the consumer.

After the allotted time had expired,

these things would be legally dead

and would be controlled by the duly

appointed governmental agency and destroyed

if there is widespread unemployment."

Now, this might sound like a wild fringe idea,

but people were clearly afraid of being put out of work

by technological progress and products that were too good.

There was even a popular Oscar nominated film about it.

"This is the man in the white suit from 1951."

It's about a scientist who invents the perfect fiber.

It won't stain or break, or fray.

- I think I've succeeded

in the copolymerization of amino acid residues

and carbohydrate molecules, both containing ionic groups.

It's really perfectly simple.

- [Narrator] The Academy award nomination was

for best screenplay, I kid you not.

Anyway, everyone is initially excited

about our heroes scientific discovery.

He makes a suit out of the thread and it has to be white

because the fiber is so stain resistant,

it can't even be dyed,

but this is when trouble strikes,

the factory owners realize they won't be able to sell

as much of this thread because it's so durable.

And the workers worry it'll put them out of a job.

- Why can't you scientists leave things alone?

What about my better washing when there's no washing to do?

- This is when you get the climactic scene

where factory workers and factory owners team up

to chase down the scientist to destroy him

and his invention.

And believe it or not, this movie may have been inspired

by real events.

In the 1940s, the synthetic fiber nylon replaced silk

in stockings, and it was so durable

that the products became an overnight sensation.

There were literal riots when women tried

to get their hands on them.

When the manufacturers realized

they had made the product too good,

they didn't destroy the fiber,

but they did follow the example of the Phoebus Cartel.

They instructed their engineers and scientists

to find ways to weaken the product to shorten its lifespan,

so people would have to buy more.

Now, it seems like consumers are finally fighting back

against planned obsolescence.

In the European union and in over 25 states in the US,

there's proposed legislation

to enshrine the right to repair.

And these laws would force manufacturers

to make it easier to repair their products.

They would have to provide information and access to parts.

So you could replace a battery or fix a cracked screen

at a third-party repair shop without voiding your warranty.

So if right to repair does become law,

does that mean artificial obsolescence

will be gone for good?

Sadly, no, because there is

one last thing manufacturers can use

to make their products obsolete, which is you.

(instrumental music)

Henry Ford released the first mass market car,

the model T in 1908.

And he envisioned it like a workhorse,

an affordable tool that wouldn't wear out,

a bit like the everlasting light bulb.

In 1922 Ford said, "We want the man who buys one of our cars

never to have to buy another, we never make an improvement

that renders any previous model obsolete."

But by 1920, 55% of American families already owned a car.

Nearly everyone that could afford one had one.

And that same year,

there was a small economic downturn driving down sales

for both Ford and General Motors.

In 1921, DuPont, the chemical and paint company took

over the controlling share in General Motors.

And they started experimenting

with painting cars different colors,

up until then, Henry Ford had said,

you could have whatever color you like

so long as it's black.

It took a couple of years of testing, but in 1924,

GM released their first cars in different colors.

And soon after, they introduced a trick

that feels very familiar now.

Each new year,

they would introduce cars in different colors.

The goal wasn't just to make Ford's model T lookout dated,

but to make their own cars feel outdated every year

encouraging customers to trade in their old cars

for shiny new ones.

Years later, GM's head of design, Harley Earl,

candidly discussed his role in creating

what he called dynamic obsolescence.

"Our big job is to hasten obsolescence.

In 1934, the average car ownership span was five years.

Now, which was 1955, it is two years.

When it is one year, we will have a perfect score.

By the time he said this, General Motors was the

most valuable company in the world and it's sold half

of all vehicles purchased in the US every year.

These days, the world's most valuable company,

Apple, seems to have copied directly out of this playbook.

I mean, new styles every year, check,

new special colors every year, check,

marginal technological improvement, check.

I mean, is this useful innovation or just a gimmick?

The inspiration for General Motors and hence for Apple comes

from fashion where real innovation is all but impossible.

So the only way to make people feel the urgency

to get out there and buy is to create styles

that last but one season.

The trouble then is you run

through these styles too quickly.

And then what are you supposed to do?

Well, just recycle the styles from a few decades ago.

The iPhone also shows this recycling trend.

I mean, just look at the way the edges were

initially rounded and then they were squared off

and then they were rounded again

and now, they're squared off.

And how much do you want to bet

that the iPhone 14 has rounded edges?

I think the point is that with design and styling,

there is no best, there's only different,

which is apparently enough to remind us

that we don't have the latest and greatest,

and so we have to rush out and keep buying.

The only type of obsolescence

we should support is technological,

which brings us back to the light bulb.

In the last 20 years, light bulbs have gone

from incandescent, which was basically unchanged

for 100 years to compact fluorescent.

And now, to LED, these use just a 10th of the energy

and can last anywhere from 10 to 50 times longer.

Yeah, that's pretty bright.

So you're more likely to sell your house

than to have to replace an LED bulb

that you've installed inside it.

So we finally reached the point

of what is essentially an everlasting light bulb?

(upbeat music)

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