I consider that a feature in a way. For a very long time I had the opinion because the German plugs are reversible they are inferior in design however what I l

I consider that a feature in a way. For a very long time I had the opinion because the German plugs are reversible they are inferior in design however what I learned is that it encouraged safer device design because it both line and neutral are not exposed on devices as a result. Similar rules apply to bulbs: since you generally cannot tell safely if a a switch is on or off it encouraged the installation of RCDs and mandatory wiring plans that let you switch off parts of the installation.