Not Quite A Light-Bulb Moment

I work in a historic home that was built in the 1770s. I was giving a family a tour of the home and we started in the passage (entry hall). I was describing to them what furnishings would have been in the room. I then pointed to the hanging lamp above their heads that has lights that look like candles; we are not allowed to use real candles for obvious reasons.

The father, a teacher, looked at me and said, “So, they had electricity.” I was waiting for him to laugh or say he was joking, but no, he was quite serious. So, I had to reply to him politely and without making him feel stupid. I simply replied, “No, electricity came a bit later.”

I then pointed out the lamp and told visitors that it would have been candles and not electric lights.