Oil lamps
Do you recognize these artifacts? These are oil lamps from ancient times. Not quite what you think of when someone says lighting fixtures is it? Oil lamos work by partially submerging a wick into a pool of oil (umm, d’uh). You light the wick, and as it burns, it draws oil up from the resevoir. You refill the lamp via the larger hole in it, and you can use many different types of oil in it, but olive oil was the most popular choice in ancient times. The light from an olive oil lamp is brighter than that from a candle.
These days, it costs less than a dime a day to burn an electric light bulb, and olive oil is selling for about $8 a quart. I’m sure thankful for ol’ Ben Franklin, aren’t you? Thanks to him, burning the midnight oil is a lot cheaper than it was back in ancient times. Guess that’s why they went to bed early, huh?
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