Congress has decreed the demise of the incandescent light bulb by 2012. They are to be replaced with CFLs — those Dairy Queen ice cream shaped bulbs that cost more, last longer, cannot be dimmed and contain mercury.

They are also a fraud when it comes to light output. The 23-watt CFLs are touted as equal to a 100-watt incandescent. Until today, I blindly believed this. (I’ll add that I was an early adopter of CFLs and have them in most lamps where they’ll work or fit.)

When my wife and I bought a new torchiere lamp, we put in a 23-watt CFL. It seemed dim, so I bought a 120 watt equivalent, which seemed dimmer.

Curious, I got out my light meter and compared the 23 watt CFL, rated at 100 watts, with a real 100-watt incandescent light bulb. The incandescent bulb puts out twice as much light.

I hate it when people lie to me. I hate it when Apple claims ridiculous battery life for its iPods. But I especially hate it when meddlesome Congressional dim bulbs force me to use something inferior.

Caveat: I only tested one brand of CFL (from Costco). Others may output more light, but I doubt it. Anyone else with a light meter, pleasure measure your bulbs and let me know.