Re: American and British (English)

On 13 Aug 2008, Roland Hutchinson wrote
Fred Springer wrote:

I certainly agree that the British 13A plug is a clunky object
compared (say) with the tiny flat two pin device used in Japan
and the US, for example. Could we safely make do with something
a bit flimsier?

Oh, I don't know. The total-paranoid approach to electricity
seems such a vital part of the British identity and personality:
Ring mains (so there are TWO paths to ground at every outlet),
a plug massive enough to supply electrical service to an entire
village, a fuse in every plug, and a switch on every outlet, and
then, in the unlikely event of an electrical fire starting,
houses that aren't built of wood, so they won't burn down.

And until a few years ago, appliances that were sold with a separate
plug (which had a 13amp fuse even if it was sold for use with a
lamp), leaving the wiring to people who didn't have a clue what was
or wasn't a propertly-wired plug.

Go figure.

--
Cheers, Harvey
CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed


.

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