They're like that in this apartment we're renting and I keep seeing them elsewhere. I don't get it.
this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2025
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For safety I guess?
I don't get how that makes it safer.
So when the dumb person tries to insert a fork in the plug, they don't die electrocuted.
Have you seen the list of safety features on UK plugs and sockets? The sockets have shutters in them that prevents anything being inserted into the live or neutral sockets unless the (longer) earth pin of a matching plug is inserted first.
Having said that, I agree: seems to be a belt-and-braces approach. No downsides.
And it allows you to cut power to an appliance without having to remove the plug.
In my work, I've learned that when you see a safety measure that looks overkill and that "no one can't be that stupid" to do what the measure keeps you from doing is because, in fact, someone was that stupid.
Warning signs and safety regulations are written in blood. I call the certificates of Darwin awards.
Sockets with flaps are code in the us too and have been for a while.
Isn’t the USA 2 pin for many outlets, though. So there is no earthing. The uk socket requires the earth connection to be made by the longer earth pin on the plug before the flaps will open.
yes but you have to open both shutters at the same time. The ground doesn't have a shutter.
No, because the ground carries no voltage. It's literally connected to the ground to route any electricity away from the appliance in case a person touches it.
There are already slats so the only hole you can get a fork into is the earth, unless you've already got something convincingly shaped like an earth pin in the earth hole to open the slats over the live and neutral. If you're going to that much effort to zap yourself, the switch isn't going to be much of a hurdle.
I'd suspect that it's largely because it's more convenient to have a switch than to unplug things and plug them back in again, especially as our plugs are a nightmare to step on to the point that Americans complaining about stepping on lego seems comical to anyone who's stepped on lego and a plug.
Some of our sockets now have interlock type slats. Not only do you need to insert the earth pin first, but you also have to insert the live and neutral together. Now, even if you wedge the earth open, you still can't insert a fork into the live.