WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.429 Oh boy, it’s “TC does something electrical” time again! 00:00:03.429 --> 00:00:06.360 Today we’re answering the age-old question 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:09.143 “why do US plugs have holes in them?” 00:00:09.143 --> 00:00:10.449 That’s a great question! 00:00:10.449 --> 00:00:12.168 And many people have asked that. 00:00:12.168 --> 00:00:15.897 Especially people who have noticed that plugs have holes in them. 00:00:15.897 --> 00:00:18.860 Let’s ask everyone’s begrudgingly favorite search engine. 00:00:18.860 --> 00:00:19.769 Oh! 00:00:19.769 --> 00:00:21.844 That’s a perfectly logical explanation! 00:00:21.844 --> 00:00:23.917 Of course, why didn’t I think of that? 00:00:24.172 --> 00:00:28.776 The outlet side must have some sorta squeezy thing to grab the blades of the plug, 00:00:28.776 --> 00:00:32.802 and putting a little hole in the plug for it to index to sure would be helpful. 00:00:32.802 --> 00:00:37.159 I bet that makes the plug less likely to fall out of the receptacle! 00:00:37.786 --> 00:00:38.886 Except it doesn’t. 00:00:39.165 --> 00:00:40.675 And that’s not what it’s for. 00:00:40.675 --> 00:00:43.101 At least, not intentionally. 00:00:43.101 --> 00:00:46.634 While the commonly-cited explanation makes logical sense, 00:00:46.634 --> 00:00:51.664 it seems few people are taking the next step which is of course to test this claim. 00:00:51.664 --> 00:00:54.053 And no, you don’t need to do what I’m about to do 00:00:54.053 --> 00:00:56.236 and rip an outlet apart to see its insides - 00:00:56.236 --> 00:00:58.553 that’s dangerous and you should not do that. 00:00:58.553 --> 00:01:00.731 But what you absolutely can do, 00:01:00.731 --> 00:01:03.988 and probably have done several times in your life, 00:01:03.988 --> 00:01:06.646 is plug something in and pay attention. 00:01:06.925 --> 00:01:08.991 Now as I’ve said many times at this point 00:01:08.991 --> 00:01:13.675 the NEMA plug design that we’re stuck with here is objectively terrible 00:01:13.675 --> 00:01:16.705 and among the worst in the world in terms of safety— 00:01:16.705 --> 00:01:20.463 just a friendly reminder that this pin is live! 00:01:20.463 --> 00:01:22.755 And yet really easy to touch!— 00:01:22.755 --> 00:01:24.199 uh but we’ve been over that. 00:01:24.199 --> 00:01:28.637 What I want you to notice is what it feels like when you insert the plug. 00:01:28.637 --> 00:01:32.023 Here we have a standard polarized lamp cord. 00:01:32.487 --> 00:01:34.317 Oh - right, side-note: 00:01:34.317 --> 00:01:39.240 There is one thing that our plug does to try and make up for its general haphazardness. 00:01:39.240 --> 00:01:43.125 I haven’t brought it up because I assumed it was fairly universal across the globe, 00:01:43.449 --> 00:01:45.884 but much to my surprise it isn’t apparently. 00:01:45.884 --> 00:01:48.212 Our plugs are polarized. 00:01:48.212 --> 00:01:53.100 Look at practically any outlet and you’ll see that one of the slots is wider than the other. 00:01:53.100 --> 00:01:58.530 And on many two-pin plugs like this, one blade is fittingly wider than the other 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:02.208 meaning it can only be inserted into the receptacle one way. 00:02:02.208 --> 00:02:05.720 This is to enforce polarity between live and neutral. 00:02:05.720 --> 00:02:09.241 Of course this only works if the receptacle was wired correctly 00:02:09.241 --> 00:02:14.479 but assuming it was the narrow blade is live and the wider blade is neutral. 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:18.750 Grounded plugs usually don’t bother making the neutral blade wider because the position 00:02:18.750 --> 00:02:22.258 and presence of the ground pin enforces polarity on its own, 00:02:22.258 --> 00:02:24.492 similar to how many other countries do it. 00:02:24.910 --> 00:02:29.120 You might think that since we’re dealing with AC power here polarity doesn’t matter, 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:32.843 and yeah everything will work if it’s wired backwards, 00:02:32.843 --> 00:02:35.870 but that introduces danger in certain situations. 00:02:35.870 --> 00:02:41.140 Take, for example, an antique toaster with a single-pole switch. 00:02:41.140 --> 00:02:45.066 If polarity isn’t enforced in the plug, and the switch happens to be 00:02:45.066 --> 00:02:47.625 on the neutral side when you plug it in, 00:02:47.625 --> 00:02:53.871 then all of the heating elements and bus bars that are literally right there and in easy reach 00:02:53.871 --> 00:02:58.442 would be live at 120 volts even when the toaster isn’t toasting. 00:02:58.442 --> 00:03:00.592 That’s shockingly unpleasant! 00:03:01.010 --> 00:03:04.644 A simpler but no less important use for a polarized plug 00:03:04.644 --> 00:03:07.538 is in a common lamp with an Edison socket. 00:03:07.538 --> 00:03:10.679 These are dangerous all the time because child fingers 00:03:10.679 --> 00:03:13.419 —and indeed full-size human fingers— 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:15.417 can get right in there. 00:03:15.417 --> 00:03:21.060 But making sure that the outer sleeve is neutral makes it at least marginally safer 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:26.262 (and ideally prevents you from getting zapped off a light bulb where a bit of the screw surface is exposed 00:03:26.262 --> 00:03:28.094 and that’s pretty common.) 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:34.827 Still need the outlet (and lamp) to be wired correctly, though, so don’t go testing that one for yourself. 00:03:35.059 --> 00:03:38.120 Anyway, not everything needs a polarized plug. 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:43.041 Things that are double-insulated, for instance, pose very little risk of leakage current happening 00:03:43.041 --> 00:03:46.760 and so either blade is free to be whatever it wants to be. 00:03:46.760 --> 00:03:52.530 As an example, tons of electronics stuff like USB power supplies or… 00:03:52.530 --> 00:03:56.744 other power supplies don’t bother with polarization. 00:03:56.744 --> 00:04:01.455 But most general electrical devices, especially those with a power switch, 00:04:01.455 --> 00:04:05.935 will use a polarized plug to ensure the switched leg is the hot leg. 00:04:05.935 --> 00:04:10.127 It’s one of the few objectively good ideas in this plug design, 00:04:10.127 --> 00:04:15.341 and oddly enough we all seem used to it and aren't constantly playing Shcrodinger’s USB. 00:04:15.341 --> 00:04:20.459 Of course we could just put a ground pin on everything but where’s the fun in that? 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:24.667 Then these things wouldn’t just be dangerous, they’d be useless! 00:04:25.247 --> 00:04:26.790 OK so back to the holes. 00:04:26.790 --> 00:04:30.254 I’ve got a lamp here with a holey plug and you know what I’m gonna do? 00:04:30.254 --> 00:04:31.685 I’m gonna plug it in. 00:04:31.685 --> 00:04:33.425 Slowly. 00:04:33.425 --> 00:04:39.572 If these holes are used as a point for some sort of mechanical pinchy dude to grab on, 00:04:39.572 --> 00:04:45.338 surely I should feel the plug sort of… give as it’s fully inserted, right? 00:04:45.338 --> 00:04:49.293 That would be when the holes would align with whatever this pinchy thing is, 00:04:49.293 --> 00:04:51.261 at least you’d hope so. 00:04:51.261 --> 00:04:53.498 OK so, here we go. 00:04:54.148 --> 00:04:58.409 Hmm. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of change in resistance here. 00:04:58.409 --> 00:05:02.068 It’s just a firm but smooth push the whole way. 00:05:02.068 --> 00:05:03.068 Same with removal. 00:05:04.093 --> 00:05:06.740 But I’ve got a bunch of different outlets I can test! 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:09.404 I’ve got more of these than any other ‘cuz I’m fancy 00:05:09.404 --> 00:05:13.029 but here’s a tamper-resistant GFCI outlet. 00:05:13.029 --> 00:05:13.727 Hmm. 00:05:13.727 --> 00:05:15.032 Same as before. 00:05:15.427 --> 00:05:18.069 Alright and another one with a switch built-in. 00:05:18.069 --> 00:05:21.539 Still no obvious interaction with those holes. 00:05:21.794 --> 00:05:25.430 Uhh… alright here’s a more generic one in my garage. 00:05:25.430 --> 00:05:27.280 Nope, still smooth. 00:05:27.280 --> 00:05:28.740 Uhhh... the basement! 00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:29.871 There’s more in the basement. 00:05:29.871 --> 00:05:33.833 There’s this GFCI receptacle here by the electric panel and… 00:05:33.833 --> 00:05:35.270 nope. Nothing. 00:05:35.572 --> 00:05:36.072 This one! 00:05:36.072 --> 00:05:36.902 Over here! 00:05:37.580 --> 00:05:38.860 Nope. 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:39.711 OK but there’s these! 00:05:39.711 --> 00:05:40.502 There’s these! 00:05:40.502 --> 00:05:44.333 The grey tamper-resistant one’s on a switch, by the way, I knew you’d want to know. 00:05:44.333 --> 00:05:46.939 Uh, nothing on the white one… ok... 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:47.999 OK the grey one. 00:05:47.999 --> 00:05:49.319 Help me out the grey one. 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:50.400 You’re my only hope. 00:05:50.400 --> 00:05:51.006 Ahh! 00:05:51.006 --> 00:05:51.774 No! 00:05:51.774 --> 00:05:54.459 Is there not a purpose for these holes? 00:05:54.714 --> 00:05:56.865 Has my life been a lie? 00:05:56.865 --> 00:05:57.540 Oh wait! 00:05:57.540 --> 00:06:00.176 There’s a 20A GFCI in the garage I forgot about! 00:06:00.617 --> 00:06:02.016 Here goes… 00:06:02.016 --> 00:06:04.379 at last! At last! 00:06:04.379 --> 00:06:07.557 The plug gave way after I first encountered resistance, 00:06:07.557 --> 00:06:10.079 something’s engaged with the holes! 00:06:10.590 --> 00:06:12.006 But wait, 00:06:12.006 --> 00:06:13.378 that's not inserted fully. 00:06:14.423 --> 00:06:15.978 Well that’s silly! 00:06:15.978 --> 00:06:17.484 Indeed it is. 00:06:17.484 --> 00:06:20.073 So was that whole sequence. 00:06:20.073 --> 00:06:24.967 Anyway, to see what’s going on we need to look at what’s inside some receptacles. 00:06:24.967 --> 00:06:29.546 Luckily, through the magic of buying several and viciously tearing their faces off, 00:06:29.546 --> 00:06:30.951 we can see. 00:06:30.951 --> 00:06:33.386 I have four different kinds today. 00:06:33.386 --> 00:06:38.833 The cheap kind that comes in a big ol' box with like a hundred of them just loosely thrown around. 00:06:38.833 --> 00:06:42.986 A slightly less-cheap one that purports to be “heavy-duty.” 00:06:42.986 --> 00:06:46.256 A so-called “commercial grade” feller. 00:06:46.256 --> 00:06:51.346 And this one that’s old and I have a bunch of them and I couldn’t really tell you why exactly. 00:06:51.346 --> 00:06:52.854 They’re off-white. 00:06:53.063 --> 00:06:54.133 Not my jam. 00:06:54.969 --> 00:06:57.829 I suppose mayonnaise is an off-white jam… 00:06:57.829 --> 00:07:00.517 So, these are the grabby things. 00:07:00.517 --> 00:07:04.971 They actually grab onto the plug’s blades and make electrical contact with them. 00:07:04.971 --> 00:07:06.836 And they’re all different! 00:07:06.836 --> 00:07:11.153 Luckily we can remove these from the plastic to get a closer look at them. 00:07:11.153 --> 00:07:16.950 Of these designs, there are two that might kind of sort of make use of those holes 00:07:16.950 --> 00:07:19.966 but let’s start with the two that obviously don’t. 00:07:19.966 --> 00:07:24.129 That’s these two. The mystery one and the cheap one. 00:07:24.129 --> 00:07:29.740 In the cheap one, we have two perfectly flat brass pieces pressing into each other. 00:07:29.740 --> 00:07:35.788 There isn’t any kind of protrusion or bump or anything to even hope to engage with the hole, 00:07:35.788 --> 00:07:39.369 and indeed the hole will simply glide right on through. 00:07:39.369 --> 00:07:42.896 In fact the flat surfaces are longer than the hole’s diameter 00:07:42.896 --> 00:07:47.211 so there’s no possible way for the hole to have any sort of impact. 00:07:47.211 --> 00:07:49.760 This is purely a friction fit. 00:07:49.760 --> 00:07:54.594 With the old mystery one we have the same deal, although the construction is a little different. 00:07:54.594 --> 00:08:00.129 Here the brass is formed into a U-shape and the blade goes in the middle of the U. 00:08:00.129 --> 00:08:05.159 Now the blade is wider than that gap so there is quite a lot of friction produced here, 00:08:05.159 --> 00:08:10.860 but it is notable that in the other design the blades actually touch without a plug in place. 00:08:10.860 --> 00:08:15.132 It’s a very different design, here, with the spring tension being delivered 00:08:15.132 --> 00:08:18.275 from this lower joint and not the U-bend. 00:08:18.275 --> 00:08:23.469 Perhaps it’s more durable, but I’m not about to sit here for months and find out. 00:08:23.469 --> 00:08:26.029 So now the heavy-duty one. 00:08:26.029 --> 00:08:27.879 This is a little strange. 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:32.740 We have a somewhat similar arrangement to the cheap one, with two angled tabs meeting 00:08:32.740 --> 00:08:37.090 to form a pinch point, but the brass pieces aren’t straight. 00:08:37.090 --> 00:08:42.925 One is very slightly curved, and the other also deviates slightly from straight to meet it. 00:08:42.925 --> 00:08:49.440 With a blade between them the resulting deformation gives two not-quite-flat contact areas on 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:51.230 either side of the blade. 00:08:51.230 --> 00:08:55.340 Now, this kink spot here seems to sometimes land in the hole— 00:08:55.340 --> 00:09:00.211 without a plug in place you can see that the two sides actually only touch at the top, 00:09:00.211 --> 00:09:02.545 almost making a tent-shape. 00:09:02.545 --> 00:09:07.026 Sadly I did not buy two of these—a terrible oversight on my part 00:09:07.026 --> 00:09:10.192 — so I can’t see how the plug fits in here. 00:09:10.192 --> 00:09:13.839 And its face is too mangled to get an accurate idea. 00:09:13.839 --> 00:09:19.301 But I have to say that of these designs this one seems to be the absolute worst. 00:09:19.301 --> 00:09:24.312 The width of a plug’s blades isn’t enough to deform these into straight, parallel lines— 00:09:24.312 --> 00:09:26.306 they’re simply too far apart. 00:09:26.306 --> 00:09:30.225 So you don’t get a flat contact patch with the blade on either side, 00:09:30.225 --> 00:09:33.305 instead you get two smallish points. 00:09:33.305 --> 00:09:34.689 Don’t like that. 00:09:34.689 --> 00:09:37.570 But because of that, depending on how you insert the plug, 00:09:37.570 --> 00:09:42.377 those points might land where the hole is, and sort of grab onto it. 00:09:42.377 --> 00:09:44.643 But I sincerely don’t think that’s intentional. 00:09:44.643 --> 00:09:48.678 In fact if that happens you’d get an even worse electrical connection 00:09:48.678 --> 00:09:52.547 because there’d be less pressure on the blades where the hole is. 00:09:52.547 --> 00:09:55.611 And so now we are down to the commercial version. 00:09:55.611 --> 00:10:02.501 This one’s got weird-looking sideways blade grabbers because this same design is used in 20A receptacles 00:10:02.501 --> 00:10:10.088 and likely the even-weirder looking NEMA 6-15 and 6-20R 240V receptacles. 00:10:10.088 --> 00:10:15.276 Yes, friendly reminder, 240V circuits exist here but they’re weird. 00:10:15.276 --> 00:10:16.797 I made a video about them. 00:10:16.797 --> 00:10:22.483 Anyway the actual contacts are able to accept either the normal vertical blade 00:10:22.483 --> 00:10:27.313 or the less-normal sideways ones and that’s why they look like this. 00:10:27.313 --> 00:10:31.671 Taking a closer look we can see that, once again, there’s nothing in there 00:10:31.671 --> 00:10:35.711 that looks as if it’s intentionally engaging with the hole in the plug. 00:10:35.711 --> 00:10:40.557 The inboard contact is completely flat with nothing so much as a bump, 00:10:40.557 --> 00:10:46.909 and the side contacts… well maybe they might drop into the hole a bit, I suppose, 00:10:46.909 --> 00:10:50.600 but again. Doesn’t look to be intentional at all. 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:57.199 And if we go back to this here outlet, which undoubtedly has the same internal connections at least on the left-hand side, 00:10:57.199 --> 00:11:04.711 we’ll remember that while the plug does seem to get caught as it’s inserted, that happens before it’s fully-inserted. 00:11:04.711 --> 00:11:06.470 Which is just silly. 00:11:06.470 --> 00:11:10.785 The fact of the matter is this is just a friction fit. 00:11:11.481 --> 00:11:12.550 That’s it. 00:11:12.550 --> 00:11:18.151 The presence of the hole in the plug, if anything, makes the connection slightly worse. 00:11:18.151 --> 00:11:21.818 But here’s the thing - if a plug is fully inserted? 00:11:21.818 --> 00:11:26.220 Those holes end up way past the actual point of contact. 00:11:26.615 --> 00:11:30.534 And you don’t even need to look in here to see that, just grab a plug. 00:11:30.534 --> 00:11:36.215 After a few insertions and removals, there will probably be witness marks left on the blades. 00:11:36.215 --> 00:11:39.180 And sure enough, they don’t stop at the hole. 00:11:39.180 --> 00:11:41.267 They go well beyond it. 00:11:41.267 --> 00:11:44.098 One of the other holes in this whole hole argument 00:11:44.098 --> 00:11:46.599 is that lots of plugs don’t even have them! 00:11:46.924 --> 00:11:48.234 This timer doesn’t. 00:11:48.675 --> 00:11:49.621 [awkward pause] 00:11:49.992 --> 00:11:52.780 And this is the only thing I could immediately find. 00:11:52.780 --> 00:11:58.754 But, I can think of at least two other unholey things I’ve had - a night light and a lamp. 00:11:58.754 --> 00:12:02.601 Also I’m pretty sure I have a power supply cord somewhere without holes. 00:12:02.601 --> 00:12:07.424 Also it should be noted this is from IKEA, it’s not just some weird random timer 00:12:07.424 --> 00:12:09.580 from the dollar store or whatever. 00:12:09.580 --> 00:12:15.494 Despite not having holes in its plug blades, it fits just fine into all my outlets and whatever. 00:12:15.494 --> 00:12:16.657 Nice and snug. 00:12:17.260 --> 00:12:20.830 So… what’s the deal with the holes then? 00:12:20.830 --> 00:12:28.330 Why do so many — in fact nearly all — plugs have these holes in the exact same places 00:12:28.330 --> 00:12:30.930 if they’re not actually doing anything useful? 00:12:30.930 --> 00:12:36.720 Well, the toads over at NEMA actually do tell us what the deal is with the holes. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:38.824 The holes are, and I quote, 00:12:38.824 --> 00:12:43.330 “Optional, and it is intended for manufacturing purposes only. 00:12:43.330 --> 00:12:47.600 However, if used, it must be located as per dimensions shown above.” 00:12:48.468 --> 00:12:49.618 Interesting. 00:12:49.618 --> 00:12:54.451 Ya know, manufacturing purposes makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. 00:12:54.451 --> 00:12:57.780 Take this incredibly common plug design. 00:12:57.780 --> 00:13:02.466 The leads of the cord are simply soldered or perhaps crimped to the blades 00:13:02.466 --> 00:13:05.811 and then a big ol’ glob of plastic is molded around it. 00:13:05.811 --> 00:13:08.528 These clear ones reveal that quite clearly. 00:13:08.528 --> 00:13:13.116 Putting holes in the blade would allow for a very simple mold-alignment procedure 00:13:13.116 --> 00:13:16.050 using nothing but some sort of stick. 00:13:16.050 --> 00:13:17.050 In fact… 00:13:17.050 --> 00:13:21.120 here’s that exact thing happening in a factory which manufactures these. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:24.771 The worker simply has to thread an alignment rod through this holder, 00:13:24.771 --> 00:13:28.942 place the blades and wires in there while pushing the rod through as they go, 00:13:28.942 --> 00:13:32.505 give a tug to ensure it’s aligned, and boom. 00:13:32.505 --> 00:13:34.445 Plugs made to spec. 00:13:34.701 --> 00:13:37.210 But why is the location so important? 00:13:37.210 --> 00:13:41.690 Well, as far as I can tell, the answer appears to be pretty simple. 00:13:41.690 --> 00:13:45.428 NEMA just wants to be sure that the hole is far forward enough 00:13:45.428 --> 00:13:50.590 that it won’t land where the contacts touch the blade when the plug is fully inserted. 00:13:50.590 --> 00:13:54.325 We saw from the witness marks that the hole should go past the contacts, 00:13:54.325 --> 00:13:58.324 and none of these receptacles engage with the hole in any deliberate manner, 00:13:58.324 --> 00:14:01.650 and those which appear to do it do it… badly. 00:14:02.067 --> 00:14:02.700 Again. 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:04.710 This is not fully-inserted. 00:14:05.267 --> 00:14:09.529 [Voiceover] While editing this video I ran across some mention of old patents which do 00:14:09.529 --> 00:14:13.161 show using the hole as part of a locating mechanism. 00:14:13.161 --> 00:14:17.810 I didn’t confirm these but another person claimed to have seen some old receptacles 00:14:17.810 --> 00:14:22.900 in the wild which had a locking lever, presumably utilizing those holes. 00:14:22.900 --> 00:14:27.990 However it seems pretty clear that these are long-deprecated uses for them. 00:14:27.990 --> 00:14:32.830 Whether NEMA is honoring these legacy devices in codifying the location of the holes is 00:14:32.830 --> 00:14:35.980 not known to me, but I guess it’s possible. 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:40.820 However, I think in the end it’s not a good idea to encourage contact designs 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:45.180 which use the holes for indexing because of a problem I’m about to bring up. 00:14:45.180 --> 00:14:49.890 Now I suppose there could be receptacle designs out there which do have some sort of bump 00:14:49.890 --> 00:14:55.680 on the contacts which indexes the hole but that seems like it would introduce other problems. 00:14:55.680 --> 00:15:00.254 If that were the case, the pins would have to bend beyond their resting point 00:15:00.254 --> 00:15:06.295 to allow for plug insertion and they’d wear out more quickly, at least it seems that way to me. 00:15:06.295 --> 00:15:10.694 Maybe there was an old design that NEMA wants to ensure compatibility with. 00:15:10.694 --> 00:15:12.584 But that still seems unlikely to me. 00:15:12.584 --> 00:15:14.459 All signs seem to point to 00:15:14.459 --> 00:15:17.131 “it just needs to be at least this far forward, 00:15:17.131 --> 00:15:23.535 and also making it too large would affect structural integrity and current-carrying ability if the plug weren’t fully-seated, 00:15:23.535 --> 00:15:27.045 so we codified the hole’s size and position. 00:15:27.045 --> 00:15:30.253 Whether you want to use it and for what is up to you.” 00:15:30.253 --> 00:15:32.061 Well, I think that’s about it! 00:15:32.061 --> 00:15:35.387 This video has a lot of speculation in it. If you couldn’t tell. 00:15:35.387 --> 00:15:39.375 But I’d welcome any of the NEMA toads out there to fill us in on any details 00:15:39.375 --> 00:15:40.690 I might have missed. 00:15:40.690 --> 00:15:46.210 Like, for instance, are there historical designs out there that use these holes for something? 00:15:46.210 --> 00:15:51.450 And why is it so common for devices to have them, even things like these? 00:15:51.450 --> 00:15:55.128 Is there a factory somewhere that just makes zillions of these blades 00:15:55.128 --> 00:15:58.401 and they put the holes in not knowing what they’re gonna be used in? 00:15:58.401 --> 00:16:00.652 Will I ever stop asking questions? 00:16:00.801 --> 00:16:01.440 Yes. 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:07.710 Though I have to wonder if part of their prevalence comes from people feeling that they just need to be there. 00:16:08.012 --> 00:16:13.168 I’ll admit that the rare plugs I find without holes all seem kind of… 00:16:13.168 --> 00:16:14.583 wrong. 00:16:14.583 --> 00:16:21.308 And so maybe this is just a huge cultural or manufacturing inertia thing we’ve slipped into somehow. 00:16:21.308 --> 00:16:25.920 People have seen the holes and so, when speccing out whatever thing they want to manufacture, 00:16:25.920 --> 00:16:27.470 they just put them there. 00:16:27.470 --> 00:16:32.210 Or maybe there is a factory that just pumps out these blades day in and day out so it’s 00:16:32.210 --> 00:16:35.120 not even easy to get a solid blade. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:37.267 In the end, though, it doesn’t really matter. 00:16:37.267 --> 00:16:39.140 This was a pretty silly video, huh. 00:16:39.140 --> 00:16:43.214 Oh, but before I go, I want to push back on a very common sentiment 00:16:43.214 --> 00:16:46.505 that the rest of the world has about our plugs. 00:16:46.505 --> 00:16:50.912 I’ve seen over and over again this notion that they don’t stay put - 00:16:50.912 --> 00:16:53.810 that plugs will just fall out of the wall. 00:16:53.810 --> 00:16:58.354 I can assure you that I absolutely think our plugs are flawed in myriad ways 00:16:58.354 --> 00:17:00.770 but this isn’t really that common. 00:17:00.770 --> 00:17:05.399 Sure, receptacles will wear out with time and actually if you have one in your home 00:17:05.399 --> 00:17:09.169 that barely holds onto a plug you really ought to get that replaced 00:17:09.169 --> 00:17:14.100 because that can lead to fires by way of poor connections and high resistance. 00:17:14.100 --> 00:17:18.150 But it typically takes decades for a receptacle to wear to that point. 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:22.174 Most outlets require a firm pulling force to unplug things, 00:17:22.174 --> 00:17:25.799 and big nasty wall warts don’t have trouble hanging on. 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:29.013 However, not all receptacles are created equal, 00:17:29.013 --> 00:17:36.537 and I think a big part of this perception can be traced to the worlds of hotels, airplanes, airports — travel. 00:17:36.537 --> 00:17:43.259 And in particular this style of receptacle, the kind that often gets integrated into bedside lamps. 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:47.134 I tried looking for something in the hardware store that had this so I could take it apart 00:17:47.134 --> 00:17:48.480 but I couldn’t find one. 00:17:49.014 --> 00:17:51.277 That’s why this is at the end. 00:17:51.277 --> 00:17:55.006 But I suspect that these are made to much lower standards 00:17:55.006 --> 00:17:58.159 than the equipment that actually gets placed in a wall. 00:17:58.159 --> 00:18:04.812 I myself have encountered plenty of outlets like these that are barely holding onto something I’ve plugged in, 00:18:04.812 --> 00:18:08.032 and many are so damaged they don’t even work anymore. 00:18:08.032 --> 00:18:12.974 But it has been quite rare that a real duplex outlet has this issue, 00:18:12.974 --> 00:18:15.291 at least not to that extreme. 00:18:15.291 --> 00:18:21.268 Now, even if this weren’t a bad design, there’s the simple fact that, in a travel-scenario, 00:18:21.268 --> 00:18:26.189 something’s getting plugged into those outlets far more frequently than is typical. 00:18:26.189 --> 00:18:28.787 There’s a finite lifespan on any connector, 00:18:28.787 --> 00:18:34.054 and in a setting where people are going to be using them daily or perhaps more frequently than that 00:18:34.054 --> 00:18:35.994 they’re gonna wear out quickly. 00:18:35.994 --> 00:18:40.731 In a home setting many outlets get used… maybe weekly? 00:18:40.731 --> 00:18:45.067 Some have something get plugged into them and then aren't touched for a decade or more. 00:18:45.067 --> 00:18:49.880 Anyway, I’m just bringing this up because this criticism is really quite situational. 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:54.142 Every time I hear it I’m like… “no, that’s not a thing I deal with” 00:18:54.142 --> 00:19:00.284 but then I remember that, actually, yes in hotels that’s quite common in my experience. 00:19:00.284 --> 00:19:05.238 And so I think a lot of you are experiencing badly-designed worn-out receptacles 00:19:05.238 --> 00:19:07.355 and then assuming that’s the norm. 00:19:07.355 --> 00:19:10.530 And I feel that I must, on behalf of my fellow NEMA compatriots, 00:19:10.530 --> 00:19:13.087 inform you that this is incorrect. 00:19:13.087 --> 00:19:16.356 But yeah it’s still a pretty bad design all ‘round. 00:19:16.356 --> 00:19:19.519 The mere fact that this is possible is unforgivable. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:21.867 Just tremendously bad. 00:19:21.867 --> 00:19:25.560 Oh well, at least it’s not 240 volts comin’ out of there. 00:19:26.489 --> 00:19:28.979 ♫ optionally smooth jazz ♫ 00:19:30.488 --> 00:19:33.455 Let’s ask everybody’s favorite begrudgingly f... ugghhh. 00:19:34.453 --> 00:19:37.356 Well. We were doin’ so well. 00:19:37.356 --> 00:19:40.373 Especially people who have [weird noises] 00:19:40.373 --> 00:19:44.411 ...meaning it can only be inserted into the recept ebbible I don’t like how that went. 00:19:44.411 --> 00:19:48.643 ….this only works if the receptacle is wi… yeah I’m gonna start over because I misread that 00:19:48.643 --> 00:19:50.871 and I don’t want to faff with that later. 00:19:50.871 --> 00:19:56.478 The cheap kind that comes in a big box with a hundred or so just lohss… oops. 00:19:56.478 --> 00:20:03.220 NEMA just wants to be sure that the hole is far forward enough that it won’t land where the contacts touch. 00:20:04.914 --> 00:20:06.213 The blade. 00:20:07.537 --> 00:20:08.701 Sentence wasn’t over. 00:20:08.701 --> 00:20:10.786 …like when you insert the plug. 00:20:10.786 --> 00:20:14.431 Here we have a standard plaaaaaughhh. 00:20:15.824 --> 00:20:19.450 Here we have once again illustrated the perils of Google deciding what answers are. 00:20:19.450 --> 00:20:22.486 There's literally no basis in reality for the explanation that popped up. 00:20:22.486 --> 00:20:26.788 People really need to go a little bit beyond what makes intuitive sense because there are a lot of counter-intuitive realities in this world. 00:20:26.788 --> 00:20:29.094 Oh well, at least there's Ask Jeeves. 00:20:29.094 --> 00:20:30.734 Wait, it's not Jeeves anymore? 00:20:30.734 --> 00:20:31.530 I'm old.