Redjake

This happens to me all the time. It has to be something more than me just "noticing them turning off." It can't be coincidence. Last semester, every single time (or at least 75% of the time) I walked by this one lamp, it flickered off and on. And it didn't do it a lot, I could see the lamp for a long time before I got to it, and it didn't flicker. Then right when I step around 5 ft. close to it, flickerage. Weird.

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gboz

I couldn't believe it when I found this thread. This has been happening to me for years. My wife is more in awe of it than I am. Sometimes it happens so often when I'm driving, walking or running there's just no way it could be coincidence.

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RogueHunter65

This happens to me all the time. There are 3 street lights outside of my building that everytime I leave they go out as a aproach. Every time...

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I suffer from amnesia and deja vu at the same time... I think I have forgotten this before

Drap

I consider myself a critical thinker, believing that the simplest answer is the correct one. I have a science degree and am now studying law so I have been trained to disect every situation in life; break it down to its essential components; then analyze each component before erecting the whole once more. That given, I still do not understand why this occurs. I often have lights go out while I am walking down the sidewalk or driving down the road. It is never the same light, but rather different lights of different types. There are times when it is a street light and others when it is a light over a doorway. Now that I consider it, they always seem to be outdoor lights. I always considered it a coincidence, yet people around me began to comment on the fact that it happened to them only when I was with them. It has begun happening more often; that is, once or twice a week, rather than once or twice a month. My wife has begun to notice it at times when I do not and it is something that I cannot figure out. I do realize it happens when I feel a certain way, but I want to believe that is just because during those times I am more alert. I would like to read more people's experiences so that perhaps I can understand what is occuring.

mobial

Pfhorte

Ahh, like I said. They get hot, they go off and cool down.
Just be happy that you are more observant than most and notice it.

mikeylips

That happens to me everyday at school when I'm walking around campus at night. Everytime I go outside at least one light on the street will go out if not more. We used to think they were motion senored, and we still think the ones in front of our building are, but the regular street lights aren't and one will just randomly go out.

I have a friend in Indiana who says there is a light in his town that if you punch it every light on the street turns off for a couple seconds, then they come back on...haha, just thought that was an interesting thing to throw in here. Cheers!

zerosk8

no....that's never happened to me.

Bawn

My buddy and I were walking around his block just the other night, we were just walking, and talking about life, we come to a street light and it went out right as we were under it, and we were spooked out, but as we walked further about half way to the next light we looked back and it was on, but it was the green tint, not the usual orange. I turned and started walking, then again looked again and the light was orange, then i assumed it was just the process of lighting up all the way, then the last time i look back, about 5 secs after fully lighted its off again.

killeena

It happens to be quite often. I used to ponder about it, but now I am pretty sure that it is just coinsidence. Of course you only see it when you are there, because that is the only time you are there to see it.

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lite campfire

I've had the random coincidence thing, and;
On my way to class one specific light would always go out as I neared it.
Starting the new semester after the christmas break I drove to school, I was in the far lane when I passed it and it didn't go out. On the way out I was in the near lane and it did.
There's been loads of variables, other cars, other people. I've been biking, walking, driving. I've been there at different times. It only goes out for me.

YouAgain

Sorry to up such an old thread but this has been happening to me for the past 2 months, Just one light that turns of when I walk past it in the morning, the funny thing was though, I walked past it at night and it turned on and every other one was still off...

Ragbags

Possibly that's just because they're stupid. After all, they're stupid enough to study it in the first place.

Drider_it

but then again i believe this.. light bulbs dont emit light they suck darkness.. when they suck all the darkness they can they burn out.. well they do leave that black smudge inside dont they? residue of all the darkness they sucked up.. you flip a switch and poof the darkness goes away.

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It means only one thing, and everything: Cut. Once committed to fight, Cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut. The lines are a portrayal of the dance. Cut from the void, not from bewilderment. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decisively, resoultely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush him. Cut him without mercy to the depth of his spirit. It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance with death. It is the law a war wizard lives by, or he dies.

Jinn

As a critical thinker myself, I tend to believe this can be more easily explained. Certainly everyone can present anecdotal evidence of turning on/off a street light since they do this overheat-reheat cycle. However, I think the "wishful observer" has its effect here. If you really had an electromagnetic aura, excess static electricity, mind-powers, or super-powers, why does this not occur with a normal incandescent bulb?

Unless you can consistently say that everytime you walk under a streetlight it turns off AND everytime you walk under a house light it turns off, you cannot say it was any effect of your own. The difference must be in the composition of the bulb/light apparatus; you are the constant and the light is the variable. With all variables, certain values can elicit unexpected responses. Even if you subscribed to the "superpower" theory, it would be easily solved by examining the light itself.

Because there are many logical reasons they could burn out, examining any light you think you've caused to turn off would easily give your answer. Some, unlike Chicago's lights, have individual photovoltaic/photosensitive sensors. Photovoltaic sensors are sensitive to heat as well as light, because heat is an emission of "light" in the UV spectrum. The heat (250+ degrees) and headlights of a car combined are certainly enough to trigger one of these cells. Similarly, body heat and reflection/refraction of light off of anything "shiny" on your body, from aglets to earrings, could be enough to temporarily enable the sensor, but only during your presense.

In the case of a light with a shared sensor (between many lights) there is the possibility that something/someone is triggering that sensor and appropriately lighting/unlighting the bulbs in a close proximity to you.

Combine the unpredictablity of sensor activitation with the "wishful observer" idea -- that you only pay attention when it DOES happen, not when it does not, and I think you have a very plausible, rational explanation.

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Drider_it

but there you are.. using logic .. you do realize that there is the supernatural in this world right? why cant there be a dragon, or ufo's or such? because someone that spent most thier life in a book says there isn't? sorry that falls into the mass hysteria syndrone effect.. where one of certian credentials or popularity says it so the masses believe it to be gospel.

sure i know what happens when every light in the world is switched on and off at sometime or on timmers given by engineers standers around the world.. or even what the composition of the concrete i use every day. that dosent make it set in stone and universal law.

ball lightning, a duck billed platapus.. mammal that lays eggs.. hmm outta that nature bound..

not jumping on your case or anything.. im the last person to ever do that.. just the fact that well.. it gets tiresome to hear those statements come from anyone with no sense of belief and such but just jump into a conversation or thread with the answer to everyting.. . which your in your right to express them and they made valiad points dont get me wrong. its just here we let go the bounds of right and science

but yet ive seen some wonderful and terrifying things in this world that have yet to live of to the wonders of science that i work through every day i walk this mortal plane.

__________________
It means only one thing, and everything: Cut. Once committed to fight, Cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut. The lines are a portrayal of the dance. Cut from the void, not from bewilderment. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decisively, resoultely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush him. Cut him without mercy to the depth of his spirit. It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance with death. It is the law a war wizard lives by, or he dies.

Jinn

I wasn't even going to justify this attack with a response, but I have a few problems with your above comments:

Are you condoning or attacking religion here? Your first sentence would lead me to believe that you believe in a "supernatural", whereas the last sentence is a description of the very procedures used in the spreading of supernatural beliefs, including Religion. Last I checked, this was Tilted Paranoia ..not Tilted Philosophy. If me presenting a logical explanation of something makes me "unfaithful", I'd be glad to discuss it in the proper forum - Tilted Philosophy.

I agree -- Knowledge is relative. However, that does not mean we should dismiss the most logical explanation for something because it could be explained another way. A car drives down the road -- I say its because the engine provides power to the drivetrain and driving wheels -- another person says it is powered by gnomes. Should I not hold my belief that is the engine (based on acquired knowledge) drives the car based on the fact that there is another possibility? I'm certainly open to the gnome-explation, provided it is supplemented by evidence, like seeing gnome's feet under the hood. Your reductio ad absurdum argument is again quite easily trumped by Occam's Razor: what's simpler? That you have a huge scientifically unmeasurable "aura" that somehow effects only sodium lightbulbs, or the fact that these have photovoltaic cells and heat dissapation problems?

I'd reply to this, but I'm not sure what it means -- it looks like a list of animals -- if you're attempting to say that these cannot be reliably defined by science, I would beg to differ for the reason above. If your explanation of why lights turn off is conclusive, I would ask that you share that opinion rather than telling me mine is too "logical."

From the sticky "Guidelines for Paranoia": Please offer your more believable explanation for the cause of this light-switching conundrum -- I am far from dismissing your interpretation, but I've yet to hear anything more than anecdotal experiences of "when I walked under it, it turned off."

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

ariekitten

there's a certain road i drive quite frequently near my neighborhood and the lights along there will frequently go out (not all at once) when i go by, but my brother-in-law says its cuz my headlights hit them and give them too much light and since they are supposedly light sensitive, they go out. only thing is, sometimes my lights don't hit them. *shrug* when i walk places i notice that more often than not, street lights go out. i do believe there are supernatural things out there, so i wouldn't rule that out, but the overheating thing makes sense too. i'm not gonna chalk it up to anything in particular, because i honestly do not know the explanation for it.

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ColonelSpecial

I know what you all mean. In high school, my bus stop was under a street light. When there was an odd number of people, the light stayed on but as soon as there was an even number of people waiting for the bus, under the light, the light went out. I am sure this was just my mind creating a theory but it was kind of an odd, fun thing to watch.

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Johnny Pyro

Maybe your a paranoid skitzo. Get some help. Lay of the drugs. Stop drinking caffeine and get plenty of sleep.

seaman747

Dear All,I have also noticed that street lights would go off when I drove by.
But not all of them usualy three of them and would go on when I passed.
First I thgought it was my car,but bouhgt a new car and the same thing happened and is still happening but not with all lights.
I noticed one light on my street that it went off when i passed by.It hapened regulary.Then they changed the bulb and that is not repeating anymore.
So it apears to me that some of us can influnce on these bulbs which are about to end their life..
Why how I do not know but I am 100% sure its my electricity which somehow interupts the bulb.........
Kind regards to all
p.s. I am from Europe

hunnychile

It's just EMF. No worries....

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"I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

dioxine

Hi,

I was very surprised to find something about this issue. I have had these kind of experiences since I was about 16 years old. I have to mention, that lately I do not experience this as often as I used to.

It does seem to have a connection to my emotional state, especially the less joyful states.

My personal record is a sequence of 3 streetlamps going out (and stayed out) as I walked down the road.

It happens in Europe, as well as the States. It does not seem to matter, but it have to be natrium/sodium type lamps.

Also it seems to be contagious, since my best friend (who at first was very sceptical about this) has it even more than I have now.

Cheers

AshlynRT

wow, i joined this site just so i could respond to this post.
i googled this topic because i wanted to find out why this always happens to me, but obviously i am not the only one that this happens to.
its really frusterating because people who say "this is normal" "the lights are programmed, and you are just someone who notices them turning off" just dont understand...
tonight 6 street lights turned off and 2 turned on while i was directly under them .. on DFFERENT streets (it wasnt a chain reaction).. and i was only driving for about 5-8 minutes.
this happens when i am walking also.. and its not always the same lights liek some of you have been saying.. they are always different.
besides this one time when the same one went off 2 times while i was standing under it.
but stop lights also turn off for me too.. like during the day, when they are not suppose to turn blinky yellow.
this hapens to me way to much, and its not just because i notice it.

Koshka

I have been noticing this for the last two years or so. Starting about 6 months ago I began asking people with me if they noticed that lights would go out often when we were under them. I asked my kids to look for lights ahead of us down the road going out.

I finally searched the topic and ended up here.

I have read the explanations. I will keep an open mind but it seems really weird to me. So far I am more convinced by my experience than the explanations.

I searched tonight because five lights went out at various places as I was driving home and was directly under them. Did not see any other lights going out.

I wish my odds on mega millions was as good as this light thing.

Shonna

I also joined this forum just to discuss this topic. I am not superstitious in anyway. So I'm searching the web to find out why this happens to me all the time, there must be some logical reason. Over the last several years I've noticed how frequently street lights go out when I drive under them, even my kids agree how freaky it is! It is regardless of what car I'm driving or what city I'm in. I kept track this month, and so far just in November it's happened 6 times! One night it was 3 in a row, but each went out when I was directly under them, but normally it's just one random light, sometimes it happens a few times on the same night but on different roads. Does anyone have any non-superstitious reasons for this?

Ustwo

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_047.html
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...8424.Eg.r.html

Happens to me all the time too.

So either sodium lights can fluctuate and being a light we notice them, or its magic.

I also notice I look at the clock a lot at 11:11, ever sense I read about those nutjobs who turned it into a cult.

I dont' think either require a supernormal explanation.

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MSD

So you don't take your eyes off the road for too long, have your kids count how many you pass under that don't go out.

Martian

We can do one better. We can construct Camelot!

Wait, no. It's only a model.

Let's see if we can't make some conservative estimates here. Let's assume that on the streets you drive on there's a street lamp every twenty-five feet. And let's also assume you do very little night driving; say, an average of 1000 yards a night (or, if you prefer, about three miles a week). This would really mean that you're hardly ever under any lit street lights, comparatively speaking.

But then we crunch the numbers. And we discover that by using my decidedly arbitrary numbers we can calculate that you drive by (((1000*3)/25)*7) or 840 street lights per week. Today is the 21st of the month, so assuming there haven't been any new instances, we've had six incidents in the past three weeks of a lamp going out as you passed it. At a rate of 840 lights per week we have ((840*3)-6) or 2514 street lights that didn't go out. Thus, according to the figures I'm using here (and remember that I've chosen deliberately low numbers) for every light you've passed that's gone out, there have been 419 that didn't. Really, given that arc sodium lights are notoriously unreliable, the true wonder is that you don't see this more often.

Of course, this is all hypothetical on my part. I don't know your driving habits, nor the average street light density of your area and thus I have difficulty putting real numbers into play. However, I think it's probably safe to assume you drive more than three miles per week in low light conditions (most folk do) and that your street lights are very unlikely to be spaced further than 25 feet apart (they very rarely are). Thus, we ought to be on the low end of average; it wouldn't surprise me if the actual number of lit street lamps was double or even treble the 2514 I came up with. Which all just goes to show that we as humans are really good at noticing the stuff that doesn't do what we expect it to and really bad at noticing the stuff that does.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame