Upside down power outlets - debunking a common assertion
Added 2023-09-24 19:32:35 +0000 UTCIt's time I finally address this discourse. It's come up a couple of times in previous videos mostly as an aside, but I've never take a position on it either way. Well, today I do!
Unfortunately I had to re-shoot the talking head thanks to a sanity check I realized I should make. A trip to the store revealed that not only was something I had witnessed not-at-all universal, but it also added a couple of visuals that improved the pacing at the beginning tremendously! It also made it a bit longer...
So, uh, I hope you like it and follow my reasoning. The Connextras follow-up (which addressed the sanity-check) is mostly edited and I'll get that up as soon as I can.
Comments
Having grown up in the UK (almost all plugs are right angle) and now living in europe (mostly straight plug/cable design) I think the straight design is better. if you pull the cable by mistake the plug comes out of the wall, rather than strain the plug/cable and transfer the force to your laptop or whatever else is at the other end of the cable. And there is nothing worse than treading on a loose UK plug in your bare feet because the pins always seem to be pointing up. European plugs are not such a painful experience because they lie flat.
Richard Bevan
2023-10-02 08:34:49 +0000 UTCExactly one time have I seen a cord with a right-angle plug that had the ground pin on top. (Unsurprisingly, it was plugged into an outlet that didn't, so the cord itself was still all catty-wompus.) So yes, that point is very much valid. Also, one thing I learned back in my residential wiring class is that if an outlet is installed sideways, the neutral pin should be on top for safety. Why Chicago generally disobeys that is anyone's guess.
Evil Kyle
2023-09-30 22:24:16 +0000 UTCIn UK, Australia and New Zealand the active and neutral plug pins have to be insulated halfway to prevent access if plug isn't inserted fully. The UK has earth at the top
Jim Hooke
2023-09-26 01:49:41 +0000 UTCFor me, it’s the right angle plug that makes the difference. Having a cord that loops up the wall and back down is demonstrably worse for both shock and tripping hazards. Hospitals may have adopted the ground up arrangement because almost everything they plug in is mobile, so this lets the cord go straight to the outlet, instead of looping down and then back up if it has a right angle plug.
Michael Friesen
2023-09-25 23:22:00 +0000 UTCI will never NOT hate ground-on-top. Never. Also, speaking from personal experience, yes, you can get your spindly little kid fingers down there by the prongs and give yourself a spicy surprise! I assure you that's a mistake you'll only make once, and even when it happens, it's extraordinarily unlikely to kill you or do serious damage. The current will probably flow through one or two fingers and the resulting shock will cause you to rip your hand away from the plug in a right-proper hurry. Again - speaking from personal experience!
Circuitmike
2023-09-25 21:01:49 +0000 UTCThe knife gag got me so bad. Once again my wife is wondering why I'm laughing hysterically, and the answer is technology connections.
Edverything
2023-09-25 17:29:44 +0000 UTCYeah…. My SNES power brick says no.
Darryl Gerrow
2023-09-25 00:40:25 +0000 UTCThank you for covering this topic! I saw an upside down plug just the other day in some new conatruction and it renewed my curiosity on the matter.
Ryan Schaffer
2023-09-24 23:21:05 +0000 UTC
