top 200 commentsshow 500

[–]MyMMoss 959 points960 points ago

I live in Denmark, in my school there has been drawn a moustache and eyebrows on almost all of them :)

[–]adamgram 189 points190 points ago

Does that encourage kids to play with them? It seems dangerously cute to me.

[–]TrillionsOfTrichs 137 points138 points ago

That's why you draw these on the sockets to makes kids afraid of them.

[–]randomsnark 89 points90 points ago

but... kids aren't scared of bunnies

[–]TrillionsOfTrichs 342 points343 points ago

They will be.

[–]Ravine 261 points262 points ago

I need a photo of this.

[–]overyard 1013 points1014 points ago

[–]bjarkebjarke 522 points523 points ago

Guys, GUYS, this is the reason why we are the happiest people in the world, don't reveal it damnit! the rest think its because of socialism, let them!

[–]feureau 149 points150 points ago

Wait, socialism doesn't make you happy?

stare at my obamacare

[–]bjarkebjarke 340 points341 points ago

It allows me, a student, to get about $1000 a month to attend uni(they're not a loan.. they're just for me). This makes me happy as I can marker mustaches on sockets while not worrying of loans.

Its all interconnected, man. In Scandinavian terms, though, Obama isn't even 2/10 on socialism scale.

[–]feureau 179 points180 points ago

takes note

face shaped wall sockets... mustache...

[–]bjarkebjarke 74 points75 points ago

You'll do good at dictator school

[–]Commod0re 9 points10 points ago

You'll do well at dictator school

and if there ever was a post for that tired "that escalated quickly" meme - yours would be it.

[–]frebels 27 points28 points ago

That is a lot of dollars.

[–]bjarkebjarke 88 points89 points ago

Yes. And i'm taking my masters degree in either Canada or Australia, either way, my government pays up up to $16000 a year in my tuition while also giving me $1000 a month to live for.. Once again, i don't have to pay anything back.

That is a lot of dollars.

[–]TheKingofLiars 64 points65 points ago

Yes, but. I went to school at UC. LA. And it was. Amazing because I was... off. Offered....

Goddamnit, I hate everything about the world.

[–]noreallyimthepope 24 points25 points ago

I wouldn't say you won't have to pay back. The going tax rate is 45-ish for most people. By getting a good education you'll end in the Top tax bracket, which'll be around 60%.

Add to that the sales tax which amortizes around 20% of your total buying power ("MOMS" being 25% but not applied to all things).

That is a lot of dollars.

[–]bjarkebjarke 47 points48 points ago

Sure it is. But when the wage here is so high, I can still afford a big house, decent car, and vacation twice a year. I won't have any complaints.

[–]hrgilbert 6 points7 points ago

That, technically wouldn't be him paying back the government for student loans though. That would just be him paying his country's taxes. Obviously, they're connected, but they certainly aren't the same thing. Paying his taxes as a law abiding citizen doesn't equate too him paying back the government for his student loans.

[–]BigClifty 110 points111 points ago

lol, Obamacare isn't socialism.

[–]Dorsal_Fin 243 points244 points ago

outside of the US obamacare looks like bare-minimum common sense.

[–]homesick_hobo 40 points41 points ago

Totally agree, it's amusing to see a majority of Americans freaking out over it though.

[–]andshewas_45 301 points302 points ago

Most of them look quite surprised to be having their picture taken.

[–]suffer-cait 444 points445 points ago

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the Japanese don't seem to care to ground anything?

[–]lordnikkon 138 points139 points ago

japan does use a three pronged grounded socket that looks just like the US one but it is not as common. It seem only recently did japanese authorities start requiring homes to have grounded outlets so most japanese outlets look like the one in the picture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#JIS_C_8303.2C_Class_I_.28Japanese_15.C2.A0A.2F100.C2.A0V_grounded.29

[–]JohnnyBanana1 139 points140 points ago

they build their walls out of paper... they obviously dont care about safety

[–]MattBD 40 points41 points ago

That is for reasons of safety. Japan is a very earthquake-prone nation and so walls falling down are obviously a significant threat.

I read a book about the future when I was a kid (one of these "in 2030 we'll all have robot servants" things) and one of the ideas in it was to have walls of stiffened cardboard that could be pushed around so you could resize rooms as needed. Would be great for entertaining.

[–]Kilgannon_TheCrowing 93 points94 points ago

Nope, not the only one. It's actually really bugging the shit out of me, given Japan's reputation for being ridiculously technological. I'm having nightmares about Tokyo frying up in a brilliant flash.

[–]technoSurrealist 157 points158 points ago

A friend staying in Japan shared this recently: High tech image, low tech reality.

[–]baxar 33 points34 points ago

Japan is a weird mix of high and low tech. There are some awesome things such as the toilets with hundreds of settings, vending machines at restaurants that eliminate the need for a cashier, buses with wifi and so on. And then there are some really annoying things, like how it is still largely a cash society, how shitty the insulation in the buildings are, making it freezing inside during winter, and how most paperwork has to be done with pen and paper instead of online.

[–]hawthorneluke 134 points135 points ago

I moved into my apartment in August 2008. My immediate observations were: there’s no oven, how can I cook without an oven?

There's a high concentration of mixing what you think is normal and what should be "high-tech" and what is normal in Japan. ovens are far from normal in Japan. People do not shove stuff in a hot oven and let it cook away for some hours. Food and cooking is rather different, so if you start off on a foot thinking it's just going to be America etc +1, then you're going to be surprised.

You're also going to be surprised if you expect to get all brand new stuff in some apartment without paying a premium.

A lot of the real "high-tech" feeling comes from how useful stuff is. I can go up to some vending machine. There's definitely at least one within 100m of me wherever I am and many let you just touch your suica or mobile phone whatever card against them to pay in an instant without having to search for anything in your wallet, and then get any hot/cold drink you like. Just deciding to go and get something to drink and being able to do that feels like the future imo. Of course the image of everyone's future's going to be different, and like everything, if you just measure it via simple numbers (specs in some cases for example), it may not come out on top, but then you have certain car navis (gps's), TVs, phone services (phones have been using email as standard for AGES now. It's a trillion times better than any SMS, plus since years and years ago they pretty much all allow you to watch TV on them anywhere you are (not via online, although online content has now exploded recently, but via a special signal for phones called one seg), all sorts of stuff you cannot experience unless you are here because those services do not really exist elsewhere, so even if you have the product, you're far from able to use it to its full extent, especially again only if you are looking at the numbers.

Another example: lots of Japanese phones use IR ports, even today. Sounds very outdated compared to what you may be used to, but god damn its extremely useful and has been so annoying lately with some people having foreign smart phones that do not have them. They are very useful, because they allow you to exchange contact details with someone you met in an instant. Now there's android beam and what not finally, but it's stuff like this and how it's used that sets the image of how Japan is. Just, how much easier/simpler/useful the boring things in life are. Order something online and don't pay for postage? get it the next day. Pay and get it the same day. This is also something that happens often. The standard of living in these aspects is just a bit higher I find. They care about the small things in life.

Another thing in that article:

There is no magnet strip so I have no idea how the machine reads your card and you can rarely use the card in an ATM that doesn’t belong to your bank. In my case, my ‘bank’ was a regional bank which only operates in the prefecture where I lived.

They say they have no idea how the machine reads it, so its sounds like magically advanced tech to me, but joking aside, again, this is all to do with comparing how Japan works to how your own country that you're used to works. What is written here is exactly correct, but what they managed to miss out is that you can use all your cards in ATMs in convenience stores, which again there are tons of. You can also pay for stuff using electronic money there too, like with the vending machines, and pay all sorts of bills there too.

In the end, it really is all down to how you perceive everything, and if you're seeing the whole picture or not. I'm from the UK too and I also had similar, strange feelings at first before I learnt and got used to how the real Japan works, and came to terms that it's just different to my own country.

[–]ChanSecodina 11 points12 points ago

I'd say that some of that is accurate, but some of it is missing the point. Japan tends to be an early adopter in some places and a late adopter in others. The reason that minidisc payers were still being used in 2008 was because people had jumped on the early adopter bandwagon before MP3 players were practical. For another early adopter example, when I was there in 2007 - 2009 NFC payment was nearly universal for public transit and picking up for other small purchases (vending machines and convenience stores especially).

Which brings me to public transit. Why is Japan's train network so high tech? Because they were late adopters of the technology. They had a chance to see what worked for other countries and what failed, and they built accordingly.

I think two of the biggest places where technology is slow to change there is in large companies and government. I'm not positive on this, but I think it might be related to a certain amount of ageism: you don't see a lot of younger people in middle or upper management there. That's why you end up with business work flows oriented around fax machines. Even small companies where that's not the case still need to interact with big companies, so everyone ends up with a fax machine. Then you have the curriculum for schools, which ultimately gets set by relatively old politicians and needless to say, that doesn't exactly change quickly.

This is all just my $0.02 gleaned from living in Japan. I'm probably hilariously off-base on at least part of this.

[–]onlyspeaksinhashtag 17 points18 points ago

Noticed that as well. Crazy bastards.

[–]oscarandjo 283 points284 points ago

This is what the UK sockets look like on the wall. As you can see, the top plug is needed to open the bottom ones, this is a safe design as it is impossible for a child to cook themselves without putting something in the top plug and then something in the second ones. Which would be difficult even if they were trying.

[–]gopig 169 points170 points ago

Uk plugs make all the other plugs I've used feel flimsy and dangerous.

[–]Robertej92 102 points103 points ago

Until you step on a UK plug, then you will curse them to high heavens.

[–]GrandmaWithAGun 58 points59 points ago

UK Plugs are solid as shit!!

[–]Murumasa 125 points126 points ago

Makes me proud to be British. If our children want to cook themselves they need to put in some effort.

I mean just look at the Danish one, it looks so much like a happy face it is just begging me to give it a kiss.

[–]squonge 12 points13 points ago

As an Australian I would much prefer the British socket upside down.

[–]happycrabeatsthefish 27 points28 points ago

THE MORE YOU KNOW:

As a Texan, we just make our kids too fat to fit their fingers into the sockets. Houston is super safe.

[–]nwestnine 25 points26 points ago

So, only the smart ones kill themselves. Good policy, chap.

[–]mikonamiko 1496 points1497 points ago

Denmark's socket looks so damn happy. And North America is so grumpy. T.T

[–]Glibhat 992 points993 points ago

Nah... America's one looks like it's just walked in on his parents having sex.

[–]KangasKhanh 286 points287 points ago

That would make me pretty grumpy.

[–]Shark_Invested_Water 244 points245 points ago

I like to think the plugs represent each countrymen's natural reaction to walking in on their parents having sex

[–]hyperacti 390 points391 points ago

So... the natural reaction if you're Japanese is to hop on?

[–]StepOfDub 104 points105 points ago

Yep.

[–]irawwwr 65 points66 points ago

Fun for the entire family!

[–]Spictacular 80 points81 points ago

"Come help us make your brother!"

[–]Derja1 5 points6 points ago

If porn is any indication then yes.

[–]FineFuse 78 points79 points ago

China and Australia could almost be the scream mask.

[–]reddiculon 19 points20 points ago

I never made this connection. Can not unsee.

[–]arlaarlaarla 322 points323 points ago

There's the reason why Denmark is the happiest place on earth.

[–]fateswarm 217 points218 points ago

What if our feelings are defined by the influence of our sockets on the wall?

/conspiracykeanu

[–]nickdude77 337 points338 points ago

As an English person, i can confirm that i am feeling _ l _ right now.

[–]megaminxwin 164 points165 points ago

As an Australian, I can confirm that I am feeling /.\ right now.

(it was my best try, just - just shut up)

[–]kuhi 187 points188 points ago

As a Slovak, I can confirm that there's a pole sticking out of my forehead right now.

[–]Zacke0987 64 points65 points ago

Slovaks are unicorns.

[–]plasteredmaster 250 points251 points ago

As a Slovak, I can confirm that there's a Pole sticking out of my forehead right now.

ftfy

[–]drunkenfaggot 64 points65 points ago

Subtle.

[–]skillgannon5 18 points19 points ago

our sockets look like Asian ghosts

[–]alexjuuhh 38 points39 points ago

So Switzerland and Brazil are feeling • • ?

[–]DasBeerBoot 60 points61 points ago

[–]Skinnj[!] 44 points45 points ago

Swiss here. Yes I do feel •

[–]heartthrowaways 10 points11 points ago

So progressive, we Americans can't even understand their advanced feelings.

[–]Nioxic 25 points26 points ago

we also have Lolland

[–]bjarkebjarke 31 points32 points ago

As a Dane: : D

[–]sjs2345 75 points76 points ago

Denmark is totally :D

[–]HubblyCaterpillar 28 points29 points ago

[–]jjdmol 11 points12 points ago

You shouldn't personify objects. They don't like it when you do that.

[–]bastian1343 8 points9 points ago

The happy mouth is a ground, so most of our sockets are just two dots.

Also some old ground plugs are perfectly circular, so the face is :o

[–]Javenne 8 points9 points ago

The source of the collective happiness of the Danish people, it has been found! Heureka!

[–]Emperor_Mao 179 points180 points ago

As an Australian I can only commend the glorious peoples China for their fantastic choice of power sockets.

[–]HardcoreHazza 102 points103 points ago

Looks at username -__-

[–]rken3824 616 points617 points ago

Why isn't there a universal outlet? We can agree on the metric system but not a plug? (save for US and whatnot)

[–]arienh4 482 points483 points ago

Europe is pretty agreeable. Most European plugs function in any European sockets. Given that it's just two prongs, they will all fit in the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th sockets.

This is what most of our plugs look like.

If they don't need ground, it's even simpler.

[–]_berserker_ 165 points166 points ago

They also work in South Korea ;)

[–]chuckfatale 117 points118 points ago

And Thailand!

[–]CyrusII 107 points108 points ago

and Iran!

[–]abovequator 87 points88 points ago

and most sockets in India too

[–]hyperacti 707 points708 points ago

and it fits perfectly in my nose!

[–]entirely_irrelephant 97 points98 points ago

This guy is on top of things.

[–]Jucks 34 points35 points ago

And Turkey!

[–]Destroy_All_Infants 7 points8 points ago

Why would we plug in a turkey?!

[–]SteelSpark 53 points54 points ago

I've just posted this link further down, but will repost here as it gives a very good visual explanation as to why there are so many different plugs out there.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Weltkarte_der_Netzspannungen_und_Netzfrequenzen.svg

[–]_delirium 43 points44 points ago

The Schuko/French hybrid plug ("CEE 7/7") you linked does solve the French/German incompatibility fully, and works as a grounded plug in both countries. But it only solves the incompatibility with the rest of Europe partially: it will generally plug in anywhere, but only as a 2-prong, ungrounded plug, because it lacks a 3rd pin needed to ground in countries that ground via a 3rd pin. And in the other direction, those countries' grounded plugs won't work in sockets outside their own country because of the grounding pin, e.g. the Danish and Italian ones. Living in Denmark, I have to own both kinds of plugs for my computer.

[–]arienh4 39 points40 points ago

Well, it's not just French/German. Schuko is used in all but 7 European countries, according to Wikipedia.

Honestly, I don't see why we can't just all convert to it. It's the safest design I've ever seen. Particularly the Italian plugs and all others without any cavity seem really flimsy to me.

[–]frululu 15 points16 points ago

Problem with Schuko is that it doesn't observe polarity and it's also rather large. Let's all agree on the Swiss system, it's really excellent in pretty much every way!

[–]Nirgilis 13 points14 points ago

Please elaborate. What's functional about polarity in everyday use?

In my experience the german version is the strongest connection, so it won't slip out by accident.

[–]nawitus 8 points9 points ago

Schuko is used here in Finland, and it's very difficult to slip it out by accident.

[–]Jooseman 39 points40 points ago

And then you get the UK (And I think Ireland) just sitting on the outside with differant plugs.

[–]is_drunk_best_ignore 37 points38 points ago

Houses are wired differently in the UK (and maybe Ireland, too) to the continent, so we need plugs with individual fuses in them. Continental plugs have no fuses in 'em.

[–]Nyeep 73 points74 points ago

Our plugs and sockets are by far the safest there is, though.

[–]Crazyh 75 points76 points ago

You sound like someone who has never stood bare foot upon an upturned plug.

[–]Shining_Wit 10 points11 points ago

Yeah, we also win the prize for the plug most likely to maim.

[–]Fiat_Nox 3 points4 points ago

Oh god. That's the only thing I don't miss about living in the UK. Fuck that was painful when it happened.

[–]weasleeasle 10 points11 points ago

I don't think I have trodden on a plug since I was about 5. Who leaves plugs just lying about?

[–]Nyeep 8 points9 points ago

I stood on one when I was little, and learned to not leave them upturned where I might step on them...

[–]treenaks 5 points6 points ago

We have "star" topologies here on the continent.

Wires run from the electricity meter cabinet to a central point in each room, and from there to the outlets/lights. We have one fuse for each "group" of outlets (more in the kitchen usually), they're in the same closet as the meter usually.

[–]Lolworth 23 points24 points ago

That's OK though - we're Britain and we conquered and invented everything - including power!

[–]lagadu 233 points234 points ago

Before a universal socket is made, countries need to agree on using similar voltages and frequencies. I'm looking at you, north and central Americas.

[–]ChanSecodina 36 points37 points ago

Nah. You just make sure that every device you'd want to use has a power supply that can adapt to the power it's getting. For example, most stuff in Japan can operate on 100 - 120v an 50 or 60Hz. And laptop power supplies tend to be 100v to 240v 50 or 60Hz, so it's just a matter of physically adapting it to the outlet.

In fact, I was once at a conference in Denmark with a couple other Americans, but for some reason I was the only one who had ended up bringing a physical adapter (since I knew my MacBook power adapter would run on 240v). I also had a US-style powerstrip in my backpack though. We ended up plugging the powerstrip into the adapter and we had ourselves 5 or 6 US-style 240v outlets. I had to watch that thing like a hawk to make sure other wayward Americans didn't see it and plug their laptops in without checking to make sure their power supplies could run on 240v. The scariest (best?) part was that the electricity arced up to meet the prongs of the plug every time you plugged something in. Fortunately, no one was killed and no laptop power bricks exploded.

tl;dr, Europe: I'm in your cities, compromising your electrical safety.

(Edit: I accidentally some words)

[–]polarbeargarden 49 points50 points ago

Not really, because the majority of newer electronics are designed for 120-240VAC at 50/60 hz. Take a look at your phone's wall charger, or your laptop charger. I can almost guarantee both of these, and many other things in your house, will work on either.

[–]rawrgyle 85 points86 points ago

Only things with a power brick somewhere can work on both. Something like a kitchen mixer or a fan will never be dual voltage.

[–]chuggles 5 points6 points ago

Electricity was first harnessed and widely deployed in North America. Kind of humorous seeing all of the comments that imply that we are out of step.

[–]Watermelon_Salesman 36 points37 points ago

If I'm not mistaken, the wall socket plug used by Brazil and Switzerland in the picture is the to-be universal standard, and they were the first to adopt.

[–]bonyhawk 19 points20 points ago

I wish every country would agree on one design. It's annoying when traveling

[–]rossryan 24 points25 points ago

It might be easier to achieve world peace.

[–]Schmich 18 points19 points ago

Brazil is the only one that uses it. The Swiss one is similar but not the same. Having travelled Europe I will say the Swiss/Brazilian design is hands down the best. It isn't very thick and it holds the plug very well which isn't the case with the Italian one.

[–]mkdz 128 points129 points ago

[–]Hero_of_Hyrule 81 points82 points ago

I'd like to point out that scientifically the US is metric, and a good part of our engineering is metric as well.

[–]hivemind6 63 points64 points ago

And we also learn both imperial and metric measurements from elementary school onward.

[–]dizzystuff 45 points46 points ago

As an Australian, I learned about imperial measurements by drinking pints.

[–]FartingBob 38 points39 points ago

Measuring Beer, Penis length and understanding how far the proclaimers would walk are the only reasons the UK isnt fully metric by now.

[–]KingofAlba 12 points13 points ago

And I would walk 800 kilometres just to... ach, forget it...

[–]Anesthesiakk 23 points24 points ago

I think a more important one is a universal emergency hotline. 911 is in the US. In Germany it's either 110 or 112 depending on whether you need police for fire/ambulance. Incredibly confusing.

I know that there's an international one, but you never learn it in school in the US.

[–]yeebles 223 points224 points ago

Or 0118 999 881 99 9119 725 3 in the UK.

[–]Cerrebos 38 points39 points ago

For those who don't undersand that joke, please refer to the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab8GtuPdrUQ

[–]deltahat 18 points19 points ago

Dear Sir/Madam. Fire! Fire! Help me!

[–]Congruence 31 points32 points ago

It's 112 for the universal emergency hotline in most of Europe. We changed it from 000 to 112 in Denmark because of a EU directive; 112 was chosen because it was already in place in a number of European countries - and because the number of misdials to 000 with the advent of land codes (e.g. 0046 to call Sweden) rose.

[–]orru 60 points61 points ago

Because of American TV and movies, a lot of kids here in Australia think the emergency number is 911. There is actually a primary school campaign to educate them that it's actually 000

[–]Bockit 47 points48 points ago

I have no idea if it's true or not but I was told that if you dialled 911 in Australia you'd be put through to 000 anyway.

[–]ApatheticElephant 25 points26 points ago

Only from mobiles, because most handsets are set up that way. If you try and call 911 from a landline it will just try and start dialling a local number.

[–]Jooseman 16 points17 points ago

It's because of this in the UK 911 redirects to British Police in the same way 112 or 999 would anyway

[–]G-lain 10 points11 points ago

Australian here, I don't believe that, I've never met anyone who thought 911 was our emergency number.

[–]blcknight 23 points24 points ago

Erhm, 112 isn't just a German thing, it's an EU standard.

110 is specifically direct to police in Germany, but you can call 112 who will transfer you if they can't handle it. Incidentally, 112 is required to offer multi-lingual service. 110 is not.

You can also dial 112 on a GSM phone anywhere in the world. It's as close to a universal number as you'll get.

[–]sionnach 12 points13 points ago

As far as I know, 112 is the most universally accepted.

[–]Logoll 95 points96 points ago

Just for the record, South Africa, India and Pakistan does not use the same wall socket. South Africa uses what is known as BS546-Large, India and Pakistan uses BS546-Small.

[–]jvok 33 points34 points ago

Both of which used to be standard socket types in the UK too (and are still used in the UK for theater lighting).

[–]stochastica 144 points145 points ago

something something dick size

[–]apkat 68 points69 points ago

[–]Dibby 49 points50 points ago

such happy funny plugs

[–]wait-for-it-dary 51 points52 points ago

This is why we gots this lovely device: http://i.imgur.com/noHWG.jpg

[–]Saxy_Man 82 points83 points ago

Man, that looks like a flaming house just waiting to happen...

[–]mr_wowtrousers 209 points210 points ago

So why are Australian and Chinese sockets the only ones with switches? Seriously, as an Australian I have noticed this in the USA and Japan . . . just plug shit into the wall.

[–]thatwill 304 points305 points ago

Pretty much all UK sockets have switches, just not shown here.

[–]myothercarisawhale 55 points56 points ago

Ireland is the same. Although some of the older plugs don't have them.

[–]r3m0t 30 points31 points ago

UK sockets actually have two switches. One is finger-operated, and the extra-long ground pin presses the second switch internally. Just jamming the bottom two pins (live and neutral) will not cause any current to flow. (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME)

This is also why those "child safety covers" are actually bad: inserting one upside down can press the internal switch in a way which is almost impossible to do by hand.

[–]feighery 70 points71 points ago

Just about all the UK standard sockets have switches also, just not pictured here.

[–]Raped_Your_Mother 44 points45 points ago

Because the UK one looks to be made in MS paint.

[–]Melburnian 60 points61 points ago

Australia has it required to meet standards here.

[–]Migelino64 31 points32 points ago

That and we'd be constantly plugging in and unplugging Christmas lights and the damn kettle every 10 minutes.

[–]DrunkmanDoodoo 8 points9 points ago

In America we clap twice and the lights turn themselves off.

[–]Migelino64 14 points15 points ago

We can't do that due to the risk of crushing some tiny flying disease-carrying insect between our palms.

Clap Clap. Shit, now I have malaria.

[–]ApatheticElephant 35 points36 points ago

I just noticed that. They always taught us at school that it was really dangerous to plug stuff in or take it out without turning the switch off.

[–]PurpleSfinx 52 points53 points ago

Seriously. TIL other countries don't have this. Didn't even occur to me.

[–]xai_death 65 points66 points ago

TIL some countries have switches on their wall sockets... (from the Netherlands)

[–]Monarki 25 points26 points ago

Wait I thought all countries had switches? So USA and Japan have none? So it's just plug in and the appliance goes on? The plug is constantly on?

[–]mysterx 35 points36 points ago

Well most appliances have their own switches it's just we have the added benefit of being able to turn it off at the source.

[–]leandrotami 8 points9 points ago

I find it funny you describe it as if that was something so incredibly weird. I'm from Argentina and it never occurred to me to put a switch for every single power outlet in the house.

[–]deejaybee11 20 points21 points ago

You can get power plugs here in NZ now without switches too, seems sketchy as fuck to me though. (We have the same plug as AUS and China)

[–]Raped_Your_Mother 33 points34 points ago

Having only lived in UK and AU, I only just learnt that nowhere other than here has switches. Unless I am mistaken?

[–]MAVP 18 points19 points ago

Oh, Denmark!

[–]joeatsborat 18 points19 points ago

All I see is :D

Good choice Denmark

[–]PeacekeeperAl 81 points82 points ago

Good old British sockets.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]wompemwompem 69 points70 points ago

Have you tried the British one? Im just curious what you think :)

[–]Really_Likes_Nutella 150 points151 points ago

I don't often get proud of my country but along with the NHS, our plug sockets are something I will vehemently defend.

[–]Exiled_David 64 points65 points ago

Until you stand on one...

FUUUUCK those sharp prongs!

[–]InfiniteLiveZ 32 points33 points ago

It's even worse than Lego.

[–]thecuriousincident 15 points16 points ago

right with you there. how many others have a switched socket as a rule? and that pic of the UK plug is terrible. it bears a passing resemblance, sort of

[–]Semajal 13 points14 points ago

I do feel they are by far the best design. Solid, cable hangs down from the wall making it possible to push something up against them. I never have had anything get knocked "out" from a socket.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

Oh god. The painful feet after stepping on one in the night! Why did we have to make them have little points on?

[–]fateswarm 11 points12 points ago

I've lived with both. UK's is very sturdy even if it's not secured in the wall itself, it's mainly secured by the metal contacts of the socket themselves, but they are sturdy due to their size (huge socket). Here in Greece the one he described is the most popular. There are some simple ungrounded variations that are used on simplistic devices (e.g. a bedside lamp). They are not sturdy but the devices are simplistic. I was surprised actually that in UK even the smallest device requires the big version.

PS. There is a trick to use the ungrounded EU ones in UK directly: UK's requires the ground to first enter for the main ones to enter (it's slightly longer and there is a mechanism that locks the rest) but if one inserts the thinner plastic of the cover of a common BIC pen in the ground's part of the socket, it allows the other two to receive contacts. It could be slightly more roomy but it fits without damaging it.

PPS. That also allows the grounded EU ones to enter but that would be unwise since for them to have ground means they might need it (the ground contacts on EU ones are on the sides so they don't get in the way of the UK one).

PPPS. Actually the latter might not be able to enter since they might be bigger than needed to fit.

PPPPS. I suspect latest EU regulations might require all EU sockets to be grounded.

[–]brainflakes 8 points9 points ago

PS. There is a trick to use the ungrounded EU ones in UK directly: UK's requires the ground to first enter for the main ones to enter (it's slightly longer and there is a mechanism that locks the rest) but if one inserts the thinner plastic of the cover of a common BIC pen in the ground's part of the socket, it allows the other two to receive contacts. It could be slightly more roomy but it fits without damaging it.

You shouldn't do this, UK plugs require a fuse as the socket can supply more current than regular EU sockets so if you plug an unfused EU plug into a regular UK socket if there was a short in the appliance you could possibly burn the cable out and start a fire.

Proper US/EU to UK travel adapters should also contain a fuse.

[–]feighery 26 points27 points ago

Same can be said about the UK/Ireland one, fits very snug and the cable nearly always comes from the bottom so its is not sticking out too far.

[–]aidanjt 46 points47 points ago

Hell, you could practically swing yourself off a British plug. There's no more robust plug in the world. Everywhere should use it.

[–]feighery 59 points60 points ago

Your not wrong, I once caught my wife using a plugged in plug as a step so she could reach a book. Apparently she always does it!!!!!

[–]RegularHexahedron 17 points18 points ago

This is honestly one of the greatest stories I've ever read on Reddit and you didn't even try.

[–]Astrokiwi 37 points38 points ago

Really? I find in South Korea the travel adaptors fall out all the time, because the outlet is recessed... I've found the NZ/Aus/China one holds things in the best, the angle of the main prongs makes them less prone to fall out than the US/Canada ones.

Edit: Plus in SK you don't have a ground, which is a bit of a worry...

[–]meshugga 23 points24 points ago

Travel connectors are always shit and fall out in almost every country. They are the lowest common shit connector, so to say.

[–]WickieWikinger 6 points7 points ago

Ouh stop it you :)

[–]realister 35 points36 points ago

those fucking italians

[–]et-cetera 28 points29 points ago

Italy: ARE YOU EVEN TRYING?

[–]Icovada 16 points17 points ago

[–]change_password 27 points28 points ago

israel is upside down.

[–]MaddenedMan 35 points36 points ago

The [North]* American one looks shocked.

[–]phunkosaurus 20 points21 points ago

'shocked', nice

[–]Leviathan23 20 points21 points ago

Ireland also uses the very first one.

[–]RoadToSerfdom 60 points61 points ago

Even the sockets are the happiest in Denmark.

[–]bjarkebjarke 18 points19 points ago

:D

[–]SewerCow 8 points9 points ago

I've never seen an outlet in Japan with 3 plugs. All the ones in our house--and everywhere I've lived--had only 2.

I've seen US-type three prong plugs in offices and server farms.

[–]TheOceanWalker 21 points22 points ago

As an Australian, do no other wall sockets have a switch as well as the actual outlet? Have been overseas a couple of times but never really taken notice of the outlets.

[–]Rustyfist 24 points25 points ago

UK/Ireland have switches too.

[–]meeb 16 points17 points ago

Yes most of them do (all UK ones do), they're just not in this photo.

[–]romaineb 14 points15 points ago

I'm from the Philippines and we have the same as Japan. it's the most sucky IMHO. No ground and the most likely to fall off.

Australian and New Zealand plugs make the most sense to me. Isn't it easier to manufacture flat sockets than rounded ones?

[–]wjv 6 points7 points ago

An error, if anyone is interested:

The socket shown for India, Pakistan and South Africa hasn't been in common use in South Africa since the 1970s.

Judging by the comparative size, the one shown is the 5A (or possibly 2A) version of the BS 546 socket, but only the larger 15A version has been in use in South Africa for decades. Like its smaller brethren it has three round holes, but at about the same size and spacing as the BS 1363 currently in use in the UK (top left in the image).

[–]Paradox 7 points8 points ago

Tricky thing about the italian plugs, there are actually two types, and they look identical. I went to the Moriond physics conference a few years back, which is hosted in the Italian Alps, and had an adapter for my laptop. I can't tell you how many times I'd spot a plug in the lounge, only to find out that it was a lamp power instead of a full power plug.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#Italy_CEI_23-16.2FVII

[–]davie18 55 points56 points ago

Being a Brit, I still maintain we have the best sockets in the world.

There's not many things we're the best at these days, but we are bloody good at sockets.

[–]MrHassie 5 points6 points ago

Just to let you all know. The U.Ks is so painful to stand on. Comparable to the pain of childbirth. Source is my fiance.

[–]Acranist1 4 points5 points ago

Australia and China have the best ones. Seriously. I have been traveling and those ones stay in the most.

[–]ValidResponse 16 points17 points ago

Fun fact: although Australia and China share sockets, they're upside down to each other

[–]Eilinen 38 points39 points ago

Of course, due to equator!

[–]zood3000 4 points5 points ago

I wish our wall plugs had a bit more expression on them. (Australian)

[–]clonn 4 points5 points ago

Yay, my country doesn't exist.

[–]heheinterwebz 3 points4 points ago

Italy, always a winner with design.

[–]jetsparrow 4 points5 points ago

Russian here, everyone uses the German/Korean outlet instead of the one pictured.