The Grand Rapids resident succumbed to acute twilight exposure while waiting for the streetlights to come on.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Arthur Higgins, 71, died Thursday in his living room of acute twilight exposure after steadfastly refusing to turn on a floor lamp at 4:30 p.m.
A lifelong advocate of simply letting his pupils adjust to the gloom, Higgins held the neighborhood record for the longest duration spent reading a hardcover novel in near-total darkness, clocking an astonishing 42 minutes last November. Friends recalled a man of unyielding principles who firmly believed that activating a 60-watt bulb before the municipal streetlights buzzed on was a catastrophic waste of electricity and a sign of moral decay.
He just sat there squinting at his crossword until the shadows took him, insisting there was plenty of good daylight left if you just tilted the page toward the window.
Higgins is survived by his wife, two adult children, and an unopened pack of energy-efficient LED bulbs he purchased on clearance in 2018. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you just open the blinds.