Yes, burnt out light bulbs were used to steal good ones at work. Everybody stole something at work. I remember thinking that something must have been deeply wrong with my parents since they never stole anything at their work.
Congratulations to reader Tom Benjamin for giving the perfect answer.
Clarissa's Blog 
Americans bring “office supplies” from work, which can range anywhere from a couple of pens to whatever they can get out the door and into their car without anyone noticing.
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See, I thought the answer would be something grifty. I just had no idea.
Dark Avenger, yes, people do walk off with pens and paper but it’s never as some part of black market office supply/barter program.
To an average American outside of prison, light bulbs would not be worth stealing even for their own use let alone as part of a black market, because light bulbs are readily available and the effort to steal them would be too much for the payoff.
It occurs to me that some of the incredibly insulting questions and random drug screens directed at retail workers would fit perfectly with a Soviet mindframe.
Innocent person I was a long time ago, I remember taking a a personality questionnaire which kept asking repeatedly in different ways if I did drugs and if I stole for a job at a shoe store. I remember asking the interviewer, “Why are there so many questions about marijuana and what does that have to do with stocking shoes?” The interviewer had no answer for that but told me that most theft occurs from employees, which totally shocked me.
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It’s such a typically American thing, asking people if they steal or transport explosives, as if anybody is going to answer in the affirmative.
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While unemployed I was spotted by a friend when buying envelopes (for job applications!) and he jovially commented “Easy to see you’re out of work, everyone else just nicks their stationery from the office!”
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It’s starting to look like I’m the only idiot who buys stationery with my own money to bring it to work. 🙂
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