My kitchen fluorescent light finally had the bulb burn out in it after 16 years, it was the original Chinese bulb that came with the light. I am always trying to save money, so rather than buying a bulb from the hardware store and paying retail markup, and before having to pay eBay prices and wait +/- 2 weeks for it to be delivered, I decided to see if my local Habitat Restore had any bulbs in. Menards and Lowes both do not carry this bulb type because its so old.

So I hunt around the store and they don;t have hardly any fluorescent fixtures other than those 5-foot something office lights.  I had to dig around through some boxes and did find exactly TWO F20T12 bulbs. One was a philips alto collection bulb, the other was a new in tattered package Sylvania Gro-Lux. I grabbed both because the Philips was a bit black on the end, didn't know if it would work or not.

I had to superglue one of the pins on the philips bulb back on because it had come loose on one side. But not suprisingly, the bulb was dead. It wouldn;t start. No sound or nothing. I dunno if the damaged pin was the problem or the bulb is the wrong type, I do not know.

Anyway, I put the Gro-Lux bulb in the fixture and it started right up.  It has a purplish tint to the light but it works.  I paid something like 75 cents for it, versus $6-$18 eBay prices and $9.99 at my Kroger supermarket.

I just feel bad using a good gardening bulb for just a general kitchen light, but I don't think they are rare or anything?

We'd have to see pictures to know.  It used to be really common to see the GE F40T12/PL/AQ lamps in residential shoplight or wraparound fixtures as general lighting.