Back when Hurricane Sandy hit, my mother and I got stuck in our house for about 3 days without power. We would always make fun of the dumb Ol' Brooklyn Lantern commercials on TV, so we were joking to each other about how much we could have used one those couple of days. Later on when I moved out, she bought one for me as a gag gift. I've used it a bit when we've had a couple days here without power. It lights a room pretty decently, though it's not great if you want some direct light. Definitely don't mind having the thing, though.