3 ms·

I have also experienced sparks in a US socket. How glad I was to come back to the civilisation of semi-insulated prongs and switches.

• iSnow 11y ago
  I think you can have sparks in any system while plugging in a large enough load. My 85W Macbook adapter sparks in honest-to-god German engineering sockets.
  • alextgordon 11y ago
    Sure, but in the UK the live and neutral prongs are half insulated[0] so the sparks stay inside the socket. And if a socket or device is known to be iffy, just switch it off at the wall before plugging anything in. [0] http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/149/635/934/934635149_988.jpg http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/149/635/934/934635149_988.jpg
    • mixmastamyk 11y ago
      In the article, it mentions why the UK plugs have more features, not to mention being designed 50-100 years later, and also why other plugs aren't being replaced. I don't have any problems with American or Euro plugs, however I may have learned how to avoid them. Still I think there is room for improvement, perhaps something like a larger lightning/usbc plug with some of those safety features.
    • wiredfool 11y ago
      The prongs may be insulated, but lots of people wind up putting plugs on wires themselves, so there are a lot of grotty plugs out there with 240v Sparks in them.
  • to3m 11y ago
    Here in the UK we don't dare use a German-style socket for anything heavier-duty than an electric toothbrush.