Is it a sinister message?
The Charlotte subreddit has been blowing up with questions regarding the strange purple streetlights that have been studding the streets, their glow a spooky reminder that Halloween is right around the corner. The question continues to pop up across Reddit and Twitter, as Charlotteans wonder why these street lights, originally white, are suddenly purple and blue.
Maybe some of us want to believe it’s a spooky message from a creature from folklore. Maybe some of us are hoping there’s a strange mystery that needs to be solved. Others hypothesized that the streets lights were all being changed to blue to limit pollution.
Unfortunately though, the answer is a little more boring than we’d like to admit. In response to all of the questions, Duke Energy said the color change is caused by a small defect in some of their LED lightbulbs made in 2018 that Duke bought from a company called Acuity Brands Lighting.
According to WFAE on an episode where they covered the mystery, LED lights are comprised of a mix of many colors, which is what turns them white, but when the colors aren’t mixed properly, it could create a defect, much like what we’re seeing here with the blue lights.
So there’s the answer to the mystery. If you see a purple or blue light in your area, Duke is asking that you report them to their website, which we recommend you do, even if they’re really cool.
[featured image by Anne Nygård on Unsplash]