Which came first? · Counterintuitive
Which came first: the light bulb or Tower Bridge?
The light bulb came first, in 1879 (Edison's bulb). Tower Bridge followed 15 years later, in 1894 (opened).
- First1879
The light bulb
invention · Edison's bulbEdison's first long-lasting carbon-filament bulb glowed for over 13 hours in October 1879.
- Second1894
Tower Bridge
landmark · openedTower Bridge opened in 1894; its medieval look covers a steel frame.
More pairs that fool people
- Which came first: the light bulb or the discovery of the Rosetta Stone?
- Which came first: the first transcontinental railroad or the light bulb?
- Which came first: Stanford University or Tower Bridge?
- Which came first: the QWERTY typewriter or Tower Bridge?
- Which came first: the first Sherlock Holmes story or Tower Bridge?
- Which came first: the first car or Tower Bridge?
- Which came first: Listerine or Marmite?
- Which came first: Listerine or the Moulin Rouge?
All which-came-first pairs · About Older Than You Think · Quiz games
Years from Wikidata, each checked against the item’s English Wikipedia article on 2026-10-18. A year stands for what its label says: a founding, a first patent, a premiere.