# The history of light (classic)

- Source: Planet Money
- Published: 2026-11-04T08:00:00+00:00
- Category: Business
- Original: https://www.npr.org/2026/11/04/nx-s1-6027986/william-nordhaus-yale-nobel-obituary-history-light
- Canonical: https://groundlevelnews.com/story/the-history-of-light-classic-4cb4d9/

How do you measure human progress? Light is the answer. For thousands of years, getting light was a huge hassle. You had to make candles from scratch. This is not as romantic as it sounds. You had to get a cow, raise the cow, feed the cow, kill the cow, get the fat out of the cow, cook the fat, dip wicks into the fat. All that — for not very much light. Now, if we want to light a whole room, we ju

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