Guess How Many Lightbulbs Could Run On The Power Used By Pornhub Each Year

Using a formula that Netflix published on its blog in 2015, Nathan Ensmenger, a professor at Indiana University who is writing a book about the environmental history of the computer, calculates that if Pornhub streams video as efficiently as Netflix (0.0013 kWh per streaming hour), it used 5.967 million kWh in 2016. For comparison, that’s about the same amount of energy 11,000 light bulbs would use if left on for a year. And operating with Netflix’s efficiency would be a best-case scenario for the porn site, Ensmenger believes.

Hopefully, you guessed before you clicked the link. 11,000 lightbulbs could be operated by the power that it takes to run Pornhub. That’s a little disappointing if you ask me. I would have guessed 6 billion light bulbs. Maybe 7 billion light bulbs. If we’re being totally honest, I would have guessed that each person on the planet was jerkin it or fingerin it enough to power one lightbulb per year. Unfortunately, I don’t have a proper census of the world to work with so my estimate is off a little. For that, I apologize.

The article in the Atlantic is fascinating and not just because it talks about pornography. I would have thought moving to a streaming format would have enormous environmental benefits. Long gone are the days that you have to watch porn on a DVD. I’m not just talkin regular porn DVDs either, folks. In my day, young men and women were sexually pleasuring themselves (masturbating) to regular movies. Sure, these movies had a sexy little scene or two that really got the folks going. For example, Wild Things starring Neve Campbell and Denise Richards.

Whoa! Side boob. Nice.

In my day, you’d have the exact time that scene happened memorized. You’d have the DVD tucked away somewhere your mom would never find it. Occasionally, you’d think you’d forgotten to remove it from the DVD player while you were at school, and you were worried that it’d be on your bed when you got home. That happened once before. It was when you came home and there was a stack of Victoria’s Secret catalogs on your bed. What were you supposed to do? Tyra Banks was in her heyday and you were experiencing your changing body. Plus, you cant believe the sales that women’s bathing suits have at the end of the summer. 60 percent off when you’re talking about the quality associated with Vicki’s is great savings. There’s no question about that or the fact that you could rub one out while lookin at the catalog.

Technology has eliminated the need to jerk off while looking at busty women in bras. Now, we can watch anything we want. There’s no need to even watch the same scene twice. Kind of incredible. Sure, we aren’t powering as many lightbulbs as we’d like but that’s ok. It’s worth it. Plus, having some alone time in the dark can be kind of special.