It has seemed to me that all the incandescent bulbs produced shortly before the ban were purposely defective. This was in anticipation of people stocking up before they were gone. They have never lasted very long at all compared to previous years.

In times past it had been an extremely common practice to use lightbulbs specifically for the heat they gave off. For instance in well houses and under sinks to keep pipes from freezing. Incandescent lightbulbs had many uses besides light. I believe this was a major factor in them banning them.