2.  The Incandescent Light Bulb

Ever since Edison produced his first practical light bulb way back in 1880, not much has changed with the overall construction. It looks the same, functions the same and, allowing for inflation, costs much the same as it did in 1912. Less energy-efficient than the newer fluorescent and LED lights, however, the incandescent may not be around much longer, and is, in fact, slated to be phased out of production in the United States in 2014.  Which is too bad because, since the older bulbs often used heavier filaments, they were more robust and therefore long-lasting, making them superior in some ways than their modern counterparts.