Suppose you just bought a new bulb at the supermarket to replace one that burned out in your favorite desk lamp. You’ve removed the old one, and have just started to screw in the new lamp, when you suddenly discover that the threads and diameter of the bulb do not match the old socket. Such a scenario could very well be the case if it were not for those marvelous “standards”, some so pervasive that we need never give them a moment’s thought. Certainly you did not have to consult a light bulb standard the last time you purchased a 60-watt light bulb. You knew, without even thinking about it, that any brand of 60-watt bulb on the grocer’s shelves would fit your desk lamp back home. Since there are “standards” for light bulb bases (as well as the shape of the bulb and other important characteristics), life is easier for both the consumers (who don’t have to worry about the bulb fitting their lamp socket) and the manufacturers of light bulbs (who don’t have to independently develop designs for key elements of their products)