Here are our favorite stories
about old things that still work.
(alarm beeping)
That alarm clock?
It was stuck in the walls of a Pittsburgh family's home
for more than a decade.
It went off every night,
like clockwork, naturally,
at 7:50 PM.
We know that it's right about here.
So it's right about here? Yeah.
So if you're sitting right here,
You would hear it, it's right behind you.
At ten minutes to eight PM every single night
you hear this beeping sound. (alarm beeping)
(upbeat music)
Jerry and Sylvia Lynn
try to make the best of it.
Why haven't you had it removed
all these years?
No need to, it's funny.
It's a great conversation piece when people come.
How did the clock find its way into the wall
in the first place?
Jerry wanted to install some TV cables,
and Inside Edition's Steven Fabian explains.
Jerry tied the alarm clock to a string,
and his plan was to drop it down this air duct
so the alarm would go off,
and the sound would let him know where to drill a hole,
except the string broke.
All of a sudden the string went loose
and I hear it go "thunk."
Oh jeez.
You thought the battery would last how long?
I thought at the most, two or three months.
And then it would die, no big deal.
No big deal, we'll never worry about it.
But it was still going strong
after 13 years.
(drill whirring)
So a local air conditioning company
volunteered to extract the timepiece.
I see a clock.
Now, you gonna miss the alarm at 7:50 every night?
Well not if it's on the mantle ringing.
That's right, the clock found a place of honor
on the Lynns' mantle piece.
You guys really love this clock.
Yeah we do.
Well, it's gotten to be part of us. (chuckles)
(alarm beeping)
And check out this light bulb.
Becky Travaglini of Pennsylvania says
the bulb in her basement has been working
for almost 40 years.
This is your magic light bulb?
Tell me about it.
We moved in in October of 1980.
We bought the house.
The light bulb was in the house when we moved in.
It's the same light bulb and it still works.
But that bulb
can't hold a candle to this one.
It's been going since the beginning of the century.
The twentieth century.
It's been burning continuously since 1901.
This bulb at the Livermore fire department
in California has been on for a million hours.
William McKinley was President when it got turned on.
Tom Bramell, a retired deputy fire chief
at the Livermore fire department
supervises the bulb.
You're not allowed to touch it, by the way.
We don't even dust it off.
Perhaps the bulb's American craftsmanship
has something to do with its staying power.
It was made in Shelby, Ohio.
I suspect that this light bulb will continually burn
another hundred years. (upbeat music)
This stove is a century old.
But it can still do its thing.
I've been cooking on it since the day I got it.
The appliance was built by GE around 1924.
Calvin Coolidge was President,
and Babe Ruth was swatting home runs for the Yankees.
It was one of the first stoves that used
electric power.
The original ad for the stove describes it as, quote,
"The electric maid for the modern mother."
Long Islanders JoAnn and Marcus bought the stove used
for $100 back in 1979.
Jimmy Carter was President then,
and Reggie Jackson was swinging homers for the Yankees.
The couple showed Inside Edition's Allison Hall
all of its features.
Did you ever think that it was going to
last you this long?
No. No.
It just kept on working. (they laugh)
By the way, JoAnn and Marcus
also have a working refrigerator from 1930.
It's been working since the 30s,
and we've been using it regularly since we've had it.
You guys have some pretty lucky appliances.
Yes.
Yeah, I guess we do.
And what about these pants?
They're the world's oldest pair of Levi jeans.
This is a pair of 1890s Levi's blue jeans
that have virtually never been worn in.
The boxy-fit jeans have a button fly,
but only one back pocket.
They didn't add that until 1902.
No belt loops either.
Though they do have copper rivets and metal buttons.
You had suspenders on.
The jeans even have a Levi's guarantee inside,
with a troubling note.
"They are positively superior to any in the United States,
"and made with white labor,
"and enjoy a national reputation."
Even back in that time period,
they still had the original leather label.
This gentleman had a 44-inch waist, and a 36-inch inseam.
So he was about six-foot six, and about 300 pounds.
He was a big man.
He was a mountain of a man.
Indeed he was a legendary pioneer
named Solomon Warner, who lived around Tucson, Arizona.
And this guy truly was the John Wayne of the Old West.
But the classic sense of style,
that might still fly today.
And here's another stylish old garment
that's still got some life to it:
A Victorian wedding dress.
It has been handed down generation after generation
in Abby Kingston's family.
Abby is the eleventh bride to don the heirloom.
There are so many women before you that have had that love
and that excitement of their wedding day,
and I just am so excited to put on a dress,
and feel that same feeling.
The hand-sewn dress was first worn by Abby's
great-great grandmother, Mary, in 1895.
Then it was Jane's turn in 1946.
And Virginia in 1948.
Sarah wore it in 1960,
and Laird got it in 1976.
Abby's mother Leslie wore it in 1977,
and Janet in 1982.
Jane wore it in 1986,
Virginia in 1989,
and Ann in 1991.
Abby's mom is delighted that her daughter
is wearing it for her wedding.
Every mother wants their daughter
to wear the wedding dress that they wore.
The 100-plus year old gown needed some TLC,
so Abby and her mom took it to designer Deborah Lopresti.
It took 200 hours of work.
In restoring this dress, physically,
we have taken it apart, and restitched everything.
Then, it was ready for Abby's big day.
Abby's husband Jason was wowed.
The bride is more beautiful than the dress,
and more beautiful than I ever imagined.
And we couldn't be happier.
I love you.
It was a dream come true.
For Abby, and for me.
And for all the other brides before her.
(wedding music)
But the oldest thing on our list
may be something in this bread
dating back, get this, 4500 years ago.
The yeast used to bake this loaf is from ancient Egypt.
It was extracted from these ceramic pots.
Then it was mixed with a grain from the same time period
to create a dough.
The master baker behind this bread is Seamus Blackley,
who helped develop the Xbox.
Inside Edition's Jim Moret paid him a visit
to see how he did it.
This is the Egyptian yeast?
That's it, yeah.
So you can see it in there.
This is an ancient grain called amar.
This is the first cultivated grain in human history.
The grain is milled into flour,
then put into this machine.
You pasteurize it.
Same way that milk is pasteurized.
Then, add that yeast.
Leave it to rise overnight,
and then put it in a modern oven.
Let it bake for just 40 minutes, and...
And the moment of truth. Right.
Is it safe to eat?
When you bake something at 500 degrees for 40 minutes,
nothing in it survives.
This is sterilized.
So, how does it taste?
Chewy,
dense,
rich.
Delicious.
It's great. It is.
We'll take your word for it, Jim.
This is InsideEdition.com.
(funky music)