These are really not very strong arguments: Prong Design (probably the strongest of the bunch): I'll grant that it is possible to accidentally electrocute ones

These are really not very strong arguments: Prong Design (probably the strongest of the bunch): I'll grant that it is possible to accidentally electrocute oneself with North American plugs, but I've never heard of this happening to anyone in real life. I'd be curious to know how many injuries or deaths can actually be attributed to this design before declaring the extra complication and expense of the British design to be worth the trouble. Socket Design: We have shuttered outlets in the US, too, and they work the same way. Sure, not every building has them (particularly old buildings), but they are available at any hardware store and easy to install. In any case, shuttered outlets are not specific to the the British plug. Built-in Fuses: This really had me scratching my head. How is it a good thing that English houses don't have fuses to protect the infrastructure? What happens when a wire shorts inside the wall? Don't worry! Your vacuum cleaner will be completely safe as your house is burning to the ground around it! Maybe the author just didn't express his point very well, but this frankly sounds downright dangerous. Circuit Design: This is a standard feature on the regular NEMA 5-15 plugs we use in the US (at least for the replacement plugs you can buy at the hardware store). The lug for the ground pin is closer to the cord end so that the ground wire will have more slack than the live and neutral wires. Again, not specific to British plugs.