No I'm not on Electrician Talk, but I've noticed that pretty much every commercial building I've run into lately has them installed ground-up, and the printing on every receptacle I've encountered is right side up only when the ground pin is on top. Even the GFCI outlet shown here with the power switch, which is ~ 10 years old, has the "TR" logo upside down because it was installed ground-down. For the record, I don't care about this, and until manufacturers of 90 degree cords and wall warts start making them to work with ground-up installations I'd still want the standard "face" orientation in my home. But it seems pretty clear that it's frowned upon, if not explicitly wrong.
My son discovered a great use for the holes. You can insert a small paper clip through both holes at the same time so when dad unwittingly plugs it onto the wall, it emits a bright blue/white flash and scorches the plug, wall plate and wall as well as tripping the circuit breaker all with an incredible but brief sound.
Back in the 80s when I was a child, my parents would put a tiny padlock (like the ones used on luggage zippers) through the holes in my TV's power cord as punishment. So I always thought the holes were to prevent unauthorized use of appliances.
My parents went a step further and just took the power cord for my PlayStation as punishment in the 90's. Joke was on them however, we had a VCR that used the same polarized C7 connector as the PSX, which I used to game on until they came home from work.
The holes are mainly for manufacturing alignment during over molding. But originally, the prongs were created by folding a brass strip in half and punching a hole through it. That had another purpose. Because the brass was "folded", it presented a smooth surface on the end of the prong that didn't have any 'scrubbing' action on the brass contacts, which had a tendency to oxidize. (Remember brass rings, as kids, that turned you skin green?) A hole, "punched" through the brass, presented a sharp edge that 'wiped' the contact inside the receptacle, cleaning the mating surface as the prongs were pushed in. As time moved forward and the prongs were made of solid material, and plated with non-corrosive plating, the original purpose for the hple was lost. So, NEMA enginners just tell you its for manufacturing overmolding because they don't know and don't care. The Universe doesn't seem to care; it all works fine anyway. Btw, the polarizing prongs are a lame effort to increase the safety of one of the world's worst, exposed, high voltage connectors. If Edison had anything to do with it, then he's a baffoon, not a serious inventor. Ben Franklin could have come up with a better solution! But then... nobody asked me! :-)
Tyvm for this explanation, though I’d like a little more clarity… are you saying the holes collected extra metal debris as they slid in or out of the socket (being made of the softer folded brass rather than the hard metal used today)?
It's hard to visualize, and this GenXer has rarely seen brass. If you fold a soft strip of metal and cut it, how can that not leave a curve at the end that wouldn't fit into the socket? How can a hole that's inside a prong reach the side contacts to clean them? Wouldn't cutting a folded strip of metal also present a sharp edge? How are brass prongs not a solid material?
Fun fact: there are extension cords that utilize those holes and will lock with a button on top. They're great with hand tools to avoid accidental unplugging while working
@@rocksntwigs Don't know about the US, but extension cords with locks are fairly common in Canada. Some have the button lock/unlock as Patrick mentioned, and some have a sweep lock.
Came to say the same thing - I've got replacement cord ends that lock into the holes for retention. Works great for power tools in lieu of switching everything over to the superior twist lock plug and outlet.
actually, that's not too far off. It's not too common in residential/consumer use, but Lock Out/Tag Out (LOTO) locks are frequently used in industrial settings to ensure that heavy machinery isn't plugged in and turned on while someone's inside doing maintenance.
Probably the only TH-camr cool enough to give a tour of all the different electrical outlets in his house and have us all glued to the screen the whole (hole?) time.
I actually have an extension cord with a tiny lever which, when turned, pushes a pin through the holes, so whatever is plugged into the cord can't come unplugged. Very handy for electric lawnmowers!
Very intersting. I've actually wondered this exact thing before. I tend to agree with your hypothesis that it is a cultural thing, like when Motorola put a fake antenna on their flip phone because they said it didn't look right without it.
Another example is UHT milk in refrigerators. It doesn't need to be refrigerated, but it doesn't sit well with Americans so they do it anyway. In Europe it's just put on a regular shelf.
The factory I work in uses them as a lock out tag out mechanism for certain small pieces of equipment. If you put a lock out tag thru the holes it can't be plugged in while being maintained.
He's a good guy, but he has a knack for taking 20 minutes to give a 1-minute answer, riddled with countless gut-wrenching puns. Sorry. I chose the other pill this time. #Matrix
When I was a kid, back in the 1960s, we had a record player that would shock you if the plug was upside down. Touch the tonearm and get shocked. It made playing records an adventure. I don't think we ever told our parents. I haven't thought of that in decades.
As a European, I was wondering at the beginning of the video: "How is it possible I've never noticed US plugs are polarized, i.e. they have blades of different size?" A while later it was clear why: All such plugs I've encountered in person (not many, really) were in phone chargers and similar stuff.
Yeah not all of the two blade plugs are polarized. They’re generally only polarized if needed…A lot of modern supplies don’t require it by design, but some items its done for safety. I can totally see why you’d not notice.
Its hard to notice even if you’re American. Sure we notice the occasional rare plug needs to play the usb game but you don’t really question it. And just quickly forget about it.
Pretty much. It usually applies to things that have a metal chassis and are frequently touched, especially if they have no surrounding external circuitry that regulates current draw. Things like lamps, toasters, old radios, and such.
When I was in the Air Force working as a Precision Measurement Equipment Repairman, at the end of shift you were required to unplug all equipment on your workbench. It was a common prank to put a piece of solder through the holes on the next guy’s soldering iron and wait for them to plug it in. Makes for a real wake up call.
I've actually used a Lockout/Tagout kit that had locks that fit over the plug and lock on using the holes, preventing one from plugging it in. Good way to make sure the new guy doesn't try to use a broken grinder.
Growing up in a developing country, I always saw those holes being used to hook/attach/tie bare wires for quick connections. I never questioned that purpose until I became fully aware of how dangerous that practice is!
Holes are used to separate tip from the rest of the connector. In other words holes are to create fuses: if wire is shortened and you insert cord into outlet tips make contact and metal around holes melts like fuse.
Fun fact: Hospital grade receptacles grip the plugs quite a bit tighter than residential or commercial grade receptacles do. Hospitals even periodically conduct a pull test on each receptacle to make sure they are within tolerance.
@@dougankrum3328 hospital grade receptacles are indicated with a green circle on their face regardless of face color. To my knowledge the only face color that matters is when they are red which indicates that it is fed from an emergency source of power. The receptacle will still be live when general power is out in the hospital assuming the emergency systems have functioned properly. I think the orange receptacles you are thinking of are isolated ground receptacles which have an orange face with a green triangle indication on the face. These systems have two grounds. One for grounding metal boxes and raceways and one insulated ground going straight to the ground prong on the receptacle. These insulated grounds are generally treated differently back at the panel than your general grounds.
One of the common uses for the hole is in locking vending machines so they can't be unplugged. And yes, outlets with contact bumps very much used to exist. They tear up your plugs with micro arcs.
Yeah I saw the video and remembered that I had an old two prong plug outlet from the 60s in my parts stash, sure enough I found it and tried a plug in it and it clicks into place when inserted. I looked inside and it has the little bumps on the contacts
Even if, it would be extremely easy to do the same with cheap blocade (I assume you need remove or have specialized outlet anyway) and use is so obscure that having dedicated universal solution is still pointless.
@Indiana Gividen Same here. I have a 100' extension cord with a locking lever that I bought maybe 10 years ago. It's a great feature, because it keeps my power tools from getting unplugged at moments that might become problematic.
@@danielduncan6806 *Fun fact:* you don't have to make fun of people for finding something funny just because you don't yourself. (also it's "peek-a-boo" because your peeking at something, not at a mountain peak)
The "mayonnaise is offwhite jam" line made me laugh out loud literally. Your style of blunt double-meaning-humor and straight faced delivery is unique, refreshing, and makes your videos seem shorter than they are. I also thoroughly appreciate how in depth you go, leaving no stone of information unturned.
Any time wordplay with the word "European" comes up it always reminds me of some Larry the Cable Guy thing I saw when I was little where the joke was like "What does European mean? It's what you say when your boots are wet and you say"European on my boots!!!" and that just lives in my head now and will be there for the rest of my life
I think I just always assumed that the holes were a cost-saving measure - it's only a bit less metal, but even something like 5% less material used in manufacturing adds up over millions of units.
Those blades are most likely manufactured by a subtractive manufacturing process called punching; a positive shaped punch (looks like the blade) and close-fitting negative die come together from opposite sides of the sheet stock and shear through it faster than you can blink. Subtractive manufacturing means you start with more material than you need to make the part; the extra is waste. Sure, those hole blanks are a tiny bit less material in the useful part, but that waste material required energy use to melt, cast, and roll it into the sheet stock that blade was punched from, and the waste has to be recycled in order to be useful again later, thus requiring application of energy twice before becoming an actual part. Then there's the energy it takes to punch it out, just to "throw it away"; not much energy in the scale of things, but not negligible. It also requires more complicated tooling design to remove the material, which isn't cheap either, in both production and maintenance. Depending on the type of punch press blanking the blades out, the holes may either be a second punching operation, a complicated concentric 2-stage punching die, or a die set through which the material advances, simply being struck twice in different areas of the die. Manufacturing processes always require time and energy to perform, which costs money, so removing that material has to serve a purpose or the energy expended on the feature is a waste of money.
@@ryanschmidt1437 your response makes a lot of sense. is it possible that the material from the holes is simply more valuable than the energy cost of recycling the 'waste' parts created by punching them out? making it more cost effective to punch them out and melt them back down than to buy new material over time?
Where I work we use the holes, not for power, but a test called dielectric strength or hi-pot. It's a safety test to verify there is no path from Line or Neutral to say a grounded metal chassis due to an arc. Since we can short the prongs using the holes and a metal clip we only need to do 1 test instead of two.
As a retired progressive die maker, my guess would be that these holes could be used as pilot holes in aligning the progressive strip of brass (or whatever material the 110v plug contacts are made from) as it moves from station to station through a progressive die. Basically, a huge coil of brass of the thickness needed for the contacts is fed through the progressive die, one station for each press cycle, until it comes out the other end, or is cut off as the last operation to drop in the parts bucket. The very first operation is to punch out the pilot hole in the brass strip (the hole in question), then the strip feeds to line up that punched hole under the first pilot pin. That first bullet nosed pilot pin and the rest of the pins throughout the progression precisely line up the brass strip, for whatever operation is needed next, by entering the pilot holes to move the strip into perfect alignment. I expect that the competition for these simple parts is so fierce that as little scrap as possible is the goal, otherwise the pilot holes would not need to be part of the finished part, and the carrier full of holes would go into the scrap bin for recycling. No carrier needed would mean less scrap and a cheaper part. NEMA knows this, so just as you said, they call out where the holes can be located so as not to end up where electrical contact is to be made. Here is an example of a progressive die that may clarify my explanation, but this part uses two carrier strips, one on each side of the part, where pilot holes are located, and the final part is cut out between them as the last step: th-cam.com/video/tc5zhOKnCyk/w-d-xo.html You can see the part drop out of the die and the two carrier strips exit to the right and into a scrap bin! Here is a guy giving a good verbal and visual explanation of how a progressive die and the pilot holes work: th-cam.com/video/NuFpzJLMnFs/w-d-xo.html Explaining the top half of a die is included in part 2: th-cam.com/video/esbMnrKBUvE/w-d-xo.html The bottom line is I'm guessing the finished 110v plug contacts contain the pilot holes, rather than to be cut off of a carrier strip, to cut scrap costs!
As a child, I once wondered what would happen if I laid a small nail across a partially inserted plug. For the next 10 years I lived with a spot of molten metal splashed onto the hardwood floor to remind me of the answer. Oddly it was a red dot. My parents never grilled me for an explanation.
Never really thought about this. I always sort of assumed the holes were there as a janky lockout mechanism. When I worked for a pro AV company, in rentals and productions, they'd put a zip-tie through the holes on any light, amp, etc. that was needing repair. Sort of a last resort in case no one realized it was something that didn't work.
Sure is a better solution than doing absolutely nothing about it then laughing heartily when the next poor bastard plugs it in and makes a big bang. Ask me how I know....
Yep, AV here too. Most commonly motorized projection screens that were abandoned in place for a large format display instead; unplug the screen and zip tie through, plop back above the tile.
The metal components are produced in a stamping press from a coil of sheet metal feeding into a progressive die. The registration hole provides a reference location in the metal strip to accurately position the strip. This allows a precise location for the various forming and trimming operations as the strip progresses through the die operations.
I don’t really know when or how I found this channel, but I watch every video now. There’s something really charming about the way you get so passionate over things many other people would call mundane, and the humor and editing is always fantastic. Thanks for everything, I hope you’re having a good day :)
I know. Several months ago, the "space heater nonsense" video was blessed by The Algorithm and made its way to my recommendations. I binged the collection in short order.
@@syriuszb8611 Damn, i wanted to type amphibians ... no idea what i was watching at that moment, the TC video was already finished... must have been good to distract me so much. Meh, won't correct it now you already did.
Additional to the points about codifying the hole position - It allows makers of sockets to build contacts that can be guaranteed to not depend on that position being the contact patch
When I was a kid, my dad put a mini pad lock through the TV plug to stop us from watching it. This is also how I learned to pick a lock with a paper clip.
I worked at a plant where they put plastic ties through the holes on malfunctioning or under maintenance piece of equipment. Usually with a tag with a initial, date and reason, so the equipment couldn’t accidentally be plugged in.
There are extension cords that make use of these holes with a locking lever that drops a pin in. Works great when you're dragging around a corded power tool to keep it from coming unplugged instead of tying the cords together.
I was going to comment on this but thought I should see if anyone else mentioned it first. Didn't want to be redundant. Very useful design for connecting multiple extension cords and being able to drag them around without them disconnecting.
The holes are there for a means of LOTO. Lock out tag out. You can run a zip tie or something similar through the holes to prevent the device from being plugged in in the case that the device is Unsafe to be powered up.
"It's always been like that, no one knows why." Reminds me of an anecdote. A little girl, seeing her mother cut off the top ¼ of the Thanksgiving turkey, asked why. The mother said, "I don't know, my mother always did it." After thinking about it, the mother wanted to know, so she called her mother (the little girl's grandmother) and asked. The grandmother said, "I don't know, my mother always did it." After thinking about it, the grandmother wanted to know, so she called her mother (the little girl's great grandmother) and asked. The great grandmother said, "I did it because my baking pan was too small."
@@Copyright_Infringement I've heard many versions of this story. I'm not sure anyone knows who wrote the original. I also find it ironic that someone with your username would bother to ask.
version I heard is, never leaving stuff in the kitchen without a bowl on top. Daughter doesn't know why, but keeps up the habit through adulthood. One day she asks, and is told "because we had cats".
I'm a licensed electrician from Canada. The only use I've seen for those holes are for some extention cords that have locking mechanism in them and you have to push on the sides of the female side to unlock and remove the male. Also the receptacle you wanted at 18m00 are easily found in bathroom fans. They are not rated CSA and made really really cheap.
My condo was built in the '80s, and all of the outlets and switches were original until I moved in. The only outlet in the entire place that was worn to the point where plugs didn't stay put was in a hallway across from the washer and dryer. Given the position and size of the hallway, this was probably where ironing was done near daily, and being central to the condo it's probably where a vacuum would be plugged in frequently.
@Oskar winters Eggs are technically chicken fruit. They contain a "seed" inside (the actual chick) and and the egg itself contains the seed, kind of like a fruit
Is Jacinda Ardin's brother Canada's Trudeau? They look like peas in a pod.. But a very twisted sick evil pod. In India which is 220V we used plug in dip in the cup water boilers to make tea. They energize the cups which were stainless steel so if u accidently touch the cup it doesn't tickle.
@AGGREY ESENDI OGADA I feel I should point out that proselytization is highly unethical, not to mention annoying and socially unacceptable if conducted through media not intended for this purpose.
I can answer this question of were their nipples in sockets. The holes came first, the nipples were a after thought, a situation of "hey there's a thing lets find a use for it!" Having worked in an antique store and dealt with old wall sockets from the pre 1930's, I can attest that indeed there USED to be electrical sockets that did have a nipple that gripped onto the holes. However this was NOT something that was standard or even required in wall sockets. Some old pre 30's sockets looked like the old off white ones you showed with the u shaped contact AND behind that a separate u shaped pinch with a small nipple or raised area which would in theory grip the hole. This separate piece design prevented the wearing out of the contact pin as you stated would happen if a nipple was present, as the contact is never stretched. Now your probably asking yourself why include this as the contact grabs strongly on its own. The answer lies in the EARLY days of home electrification, see until post world war 2 electrification in the home was mostly for ceiling based lighting. And many poorer homes had no wall sockets until after the building boom of the 40's and 50's, just a few lamps from ceilings and maybe a stray wall socket here and there. As such manufacturers developed Edison socket plug adapters that screwed in and provided a nema plug socket, which meant that any plug would hang downward from it. As such some manufacturers of ceiling lamps with built in plugs and separate socket adapters introduced the nipple as a way to more firmly secure a plug hanging from a socket. However these had a big draw back...arcing. Nipples were not uniform in shape and metal contacts for plugs tended to be extremely thin, as such when the contacts passed between the nipples the fit wasn't unifrom leaving a gap, which would create arcing which generated heat, resistance and if enough current was passing through could spot weld the prong of the plug to the socket. After world war 2 and the great housing boom of the 40's and 50's the age of syphoning energy from ceiling fixtures mostly came to an end. But more importantly the nipple fad vanished as polarized plugs (which had been around since the 1890's!) Finally became the standard in the 50's and wall sockets became the norm in new home constructions. It was a semi useful quirk of the early days that had a quasi meaningful use but ultimately was just a fad. Modern edison socket adaptors and hanging lamp sockets with plugs all use grounding pins which provide all the needed extra grip. So nipples like on men serve no purpose anymore.
US plugs contain lot of antiquated solutions in general. They are straight horrible! Polarization as interesting it is, basically is irrelevant in most modern devices. It is also quite funny that grounded variant has modern pin.
Not an intended use, but I imagine the holes would be useful for "locking out" faulty equipment. You can pass the tag through the holes, or even a cut-resistent wire and actual lock.
The wire may be cut-resistant but the sides of the holes are not. In Europe, my mom would just hide the PC power cables to prevent me from gaming. With the help of 2 wires I was back into gaming in no time.
@@miro-hristov The point of Lock Out Tag Out isn't really about device security, but rather a visible, hopefully obvious reminder that the cord you're holding SHOULD NOT be plugged in. Most of the locks I've ever used are a string of plastic beads that is absolutely less secure than even a cheap zip tie, so it's completely designed with safety, not security, in mind.
That was what I thought the holes were for. Preventing them from being plugged in when you are working on the device or there's a known short or other problem with the device.
As someone who has been to the US as a tourist: Imagine trying to use a well-worn hotel room socket with the weight of a travel adaptor (hard mode: BS 1363 travel adaptor) combined with a typical USB charger. I didn't experience them falling out but the angle was often precarious leading to poor connection or exposing the live pins for extra excitement. And this was with the wall sockets.
I have an extension cord that specifically locks into those holes, removing the plug from the cord requires you to press a button. I bought it a few years ago. It's awesome, I wish they all did that.
We have these hundred-foot outdoor winter extension cords. On the inlet end is a little switch thing you can turn that shoves a pin through the holes of a connecting cable, helping prevent it coming unplugged.
"... mayonnaise is an off-white jam" might be the most upsetting thing I've ever heard you say on this or any other channel, even in brief guest appearances like on that losing connection gameshow Tom Scott did that time.
He did seem to purposely make this video as long as possible. 😴 He also didn't tell us if the longer blade is the live current side and, now I am wondering about that.
so here we go... I know I have a 3-some-year-old comment below with 3 updoots but: I remember seeing quite a few really old plugs that only had a hole through the outside layer of metal and not the inside. They're registering dimples/holes for manufacturing purposes specifically to ensure correct depth in the slots before the wires are crimped and soldered in and the assembly including the holding block is moved on to the casting process outlets HAVE been made with bumps to register to these registering dimples, also the protective covers often have bumps that fit into them from the factor or you'll end up with a pull-tie stuck through them you can buy plug-locks that require a key which register locking lugs into the holes the holes reduce the probability of the plug corrosion-welding into a socket as well
When you said the plugs without holes seem wrong, I really related to that. The few times I’ve seen them without I always associated them with cheapness or laziness.
While in the military, I was the "safety guy" we had "Lock-out, Tag-out" devices that would use the two holes to prevent someone from plugging the device in & shocking someone else!
Did he ever actually get to the point and say definitively what the holes are for? I do like the notion of a lock-out device. The hotel issue is a pet peeve of mine, too.
Like you I thought the holes were for lock out tag out because of my military training. I believe lock out tag out is a common practice in civilian industrial applications as well. Can any factory maintenance guys out there verify this? Strange that he didn't even mention this practice.
Holes in plugs are very important for safety within workplaces, I used to work in maintenance and to lockout tagout procedures sometimes require you to prevent certain equipment from being turned on, lots of items have mechanisms after you attach a lock that they can't be turned on some you can put a padlock right through those holes so no one can plug it into a wall
Also very ruinous since instead of just harmlessly disconnecting the plug, you eventually end up pulling the cord/crimps/solders apart and voila, some mangled live wires free to touch whatever they want!
My solution to this problem is to loosely tie the two ends together before plugging (just a simple loop), loose enough to not damage the wires but not too much to not waste wire length or get in the way. This way if you tug them, it just tightens the knot. Of course, if you tug it WAY too hard, you'll remove it from the power outlet or mess up the wires, hopefully the former..
As an employee I was made the "safety guy" at several heavy equipment/manufacturing occupations. In each one they had their own training. Most of the training was "word of mouth" rather than an official documentation. I was taught throughout the industry that those holes were used for "Lock Out" situations. When a particular piece of equipment was either currently under repairs or scheduled for repairs, said piece of equipment received an actual lock to keep anyone from using it. Usually inserted through one or both holes. It would also receive a tag by the person who locked it. With the information why and when it was locked. This in turn kept anyone from accidentally plugging it in while under repairs to prevent the technician from being electrocuted. To learn that you've done your research and never came across this explanation was an eye opener.
I once saw a meme where it suggested that parents insert a lock through the locks of their child's phone / tablet charger. Something to the effect of watch the look on their face as the battery slowly runs out... I suppose that could be the case in some limited circumstances. I suspect however that most things that are 120 volt are probably something where lock out / tag out aren't totally necessary. (I am thinking the exception might be some kind of shredder?) Although something that is perhaps 240 volts (or larger) might be something that needs to be locked out maybe. That is so long as the lock prevents the plug from coming into contact with any contact inside the plug.
Our electrical team simply cut the plug off, for sure eliminating future of the appliance until the devise was repaired , and a new plug wired to the cord. On heavy industrial equipment, all people involved with the repairs were required to follow lock out-tag out procedure. The main power would be locked off by all involved with individual locks using a multi hole clamp on the switch, then all keys inserted into a "lock box". Only the supervisor had the sole key that would open the lock box. All personnel would have to be accounted for and asked to certify if it was safe to restore power. Only then would the machine be returned to service. There were repercussions to those who did not follow this safety procedure.
Those holes are used by many construction-grade extension cords as a lock to prevent accidental unplugging. The outlet on the extension has a simple plastic lever that engages pins inside the outlet lined up with the holes.
It seems likely that those are people taking advantage of the holes that happen to exist for manufacturing purposes rather than the reason the holes exist.
@@88porpoise they may exist for manufacturing more broadly today, but the NEMA requirement that they are in the exact place on every plug may imply that the original usage served one or both purposes.
This episode really helped highlight how much I really like this channel, it satisfies my random curiosity itch on things Ive thought about but never looked into.
"The toads over at NEMA" -Alec, 2021 That's a joke that can easily pass you by, bravo. And yeah, guess we're just stuck with it the same way we just expect outlets to be pure white, or in some cases beige. If you were capable of speaking with this much detail about electrical systems in other countries that'd be interesting imo And by capable, I just mean informed. Because it's logical to know more about something you live with Even though it's not that big of a deal in this day and age, I find Japan's split north/south grid fascinating
@@chimp163 Yup, toads is funny in its own condescending way, but I totally believe it was an intentional setup to demote them to worms later in the video.
I wouldn't say that taking an outlet apart is dangerous, I'd say taking a mounted outlet apart is dangerous. Buy a new one that's not attached to anything and you can mess as much as you want
The alleged "bad design" of our plug is just ridiculous. That little stunt at the end, I've never seen anyone do it. I can ruin any plug you show me if I determined to do ridiculous things. It's just like our allegedly bad 120v standard for appliances. Never seemed to have caused me any trouble in my 50 plus years. The only negative about it is for dumb ideas like electric tea pots. But high power devices can work fine because 240 is an option and most houses have them in certain places where high power devices will be, like a stove where natural gas is not available.
A locking-socket extension cord turned up in my store last month. It has a sliding sleeve which causes two pins to engage those holes. Works a treat AFAICT.
I always though that they were for safety devices that prevent something from being plugged in. I’ve seen padlocks used with these holes to prevent equipment being used on job sites. But manufacturing makes sense.
Are you thinking of like a lockout tag out situation? If so I've seen that. Or if you just want to mess with your coworkers computer when they are late
@@professorfukyu744 This in and of itself is received wisdom and shouldn't be taken seriously. The generalization makes the whole claim weird and wrong
The only time I've encountered loose wall outlets was a house built in the 30s, lived in by a carpenter that had a habit of cutting off ground prongs because they were presumably "new and unnecessary" to him. To be fair, many of the outlets in the house were still only 2-prong outlets and electricity was effectively magic to the carpenter born in 1905 in what I can only assume was off a dirt road in French Canada. Dude lived a hundred years and had his wit until his last day. He managed far more life than I probably will and didn't light the house on fire with his insane approach to electricity, so I can't fault him too much
Well you gotta use something, and naturally you want to find the outlet that's the most centralized in the room so you don't have to move the plug a bunch of times (esp cause they don't exactly give you all day to clean each room)
As a hotel housekeeper... i almost never use the same plug in every room as a default. All depends on where i have to start the process of cleaning... which often depends on where the mess in a room is.
@@wolfsbaneandnightshade2166 how long the cord is and how big the room is would vary that as well; kinda inconvenient to use outlets that you can’t reach the whole room with
I've an outdoor extension cord sold for electric lawn mowers that engages these holes with a lever mechanism. Not even old; but it does use plastic to retain the blades.
Some Bunn Coffeemakers come with a warning tag ziptied through the holes on the plug, telling the buyer to make sure to read at least the quick instructions before plugging it in. This is because if the user does not fill the reservoir before plugging the machine in, it will rapidly burn out the heating element and be a fire hazard.
@@Woden325 That makes sense...in a way...seems like a design oversight. I've had my crews zip-tie tags to the plugs through the hole of bad equipment to keep it from being used. I never assumed they were put there for that reason - just a "happy accident".
@@justinahole336 It's one of those feature/bug situations. Basically, the coffee maker keeps a reservoir of water hot all the time for rapid brewing. This is the opposite of a typical home coffee maker, where it's only switched on when someone is ready to brew. Hence the warning note on the plug (and another one stuck over the power switch).
If it helps I can confirm the presence of holes for manufacturing, sort of, and from personal experience. Ages ago when they required/taught tech ed in middle school, I made a night light in class. Two brass blades, a bulb, and a resistor, place inside a paper cup and fill the cup with resin. We drilled holes in the blade so they could be supported by a dowel and wouldn't fall into the resin while it was curing.
"Off-white jam" "Optionally smooth jazz" Your writing is divine. Also, "myriad". Thank god you used it how you used it. Subscribed because of that alone.
@@mikehall3976 The first time he said it I thought "huh, he's got some really political feelings about NEMA". The second time it managed to tickle the parasite-oriented part of my atrophied brain. Just brilliant.
As a former safety engineer, I always figured the holes were there to allow for a plug to be locked out. Although I never saw it actually done that way with a 110v plug. I've only seen a 110v plug "locked out" with a padlocked cover over the entire plug.
The holes are for when my grandpa wanted to "get some electric" and he just wound a couple of wires through the holes and suspended the plug between a couple bricks. He lived till 103.
As someone who recently moved into an apartment with really bad outlets, learn how to replace them. It's honestly really easy if you're even moderately handy, and not at all dangerous if you just turn off the breaker before working on anything (I cannot stress this enough, get an outlet tester. For like $10 you can get a tester that will tell you if an outlet has power and if its wired correctly). The actual parts are like $1-2 each, for like $10 I replaced all the worn out outlets in my apartment, and now none of my plugs are falling out.
As an Australian, I have never in my life encountered any plug with holes in it. Some with resistant tips (to ensure that the plug is fully inserted before it is live) but never holes. So I suspect this may just be an American thing. Australian plugs can't go in the wrong way, either - the prongs are angled away from each other, so even if they don't have a ground pin, they are strictly one-way devices. I've got to say that I also found it surprising to learn earlier in my life that power sockets elsewhere in the world are not necessarily switched. Every wall power socket I have ever seen or interacted with has a switch dedicated to it. Possibly there may be some industrial ones or something that break this rule, but from the perspective of general purpose use, all our power sockets are switched at least at the wall. You can get powerboards (aka power strips) that are just tied to the wall switch, though you can also get them with a switch for each plug on those as well. I guess this is like the PAL vs. NTSC thing - we benefited from the mistakes made in earlier, American versions.
@Fatally Orange I think maybe the labelling is deemed unnecessary because flicking down is always on. If it’s a power board, the switches are always above the socket from what I’ve seen. And the plug itself has a normal upper and lower side as well because of the angled shape. I reckon as mentioned above, the differences are definitely in large part because the standards here were invented far later and all the lessons from other designs were able to be factored in. And changing standards for things is not something that happens for this sort of thing in the US. And to be fair this particular standard would be a big hassle to change nowadays with everyone owning dozens of devices each with these plugs
@@AlphaGeekgirl yeah agreed. Although 50 years ago maybe lots of people would have basically just had 1 tv, an alarm clock and a couple lamps etc so there’s more devices now and more reliance on them. Whereas for metric it’s probably fairly similar in terms of the things people have to measure etc. Both are technically doable. It would have been a hassle for the countries even back in the day who changed to metric etc
I think I saw holes on a really ancient Aussie plug (bakelite era), but they were much smaller than the ones on the American pins. Agree the inherent polarisation on the Aussie plug is a plus (the polarised US one looks as if it's like at USB A plug: third attempt shall work). Down side was the exposure of the pins for a half inserted-plug - now fixed but the pins are weaker as a result. I used to wonder whether using IEC C13 and C14 connectors for wall outlets should be an acceptable alternative, but that may be too hard!
Hm. Being originally from the UK where sockets (not “outlets”) were all switched, though no-one I ever knew actually used said switches, I have a few comments about the US electrical system: 1. Plugs are fragile. You’ll see several people commenting about the fact that earth (“ground”) pins break off. And I have seen this. Can’t comment on the Aussie plugs, but the (best in the world) MK 13A plugs I used in the UK didn’t break at all, ever, even when you stepped on them in the dark and screamed about them being super-Legoes! 2. All the examples that Alec showed have relatively solid pins. However there are low-amperage extension cords with the pins made from a sheet of relatively thin brass (brass plated?) metal bent over. Typically they have been bent out of true when you encounter them and they require some manipulation to get them back into true so you can use them again. 3. This business about plugs falling out of sockets. The best in the world except for clunkiness and Lego problem UK 13A plug never falls out of its socket because of the springs trying to push the shutters closed. Etc. The only thing wrong with UK plugs is that they’re large!
I was trained that those holes are used in lock-out/tag-out procedures for installing the safety clip. When a device is under repair it’s to prevent someone from plugging it in.
There's locking extension cords that latch into that hole to keep them from coming unplugged while cords get dragged or moved on jobsites. They work pretty good until the first guy that doesn't know about it rips harder when it doesn't come unplugged. Then they work worse than a regular non-locking cord.
As a kid in the 1960s, we had one of those locking extension cords for an electric lawnmower. You pressed two buttons on the socket to disengage the plug. But it's just as easy to keep cords from pulling apart by tying them in a single overhand knot before connecting.
This seems pretty dangerous. What if somebody would be shortening the power to ground and you would like to unplug it. You could not because of the locking - super :)
I actually have an extension cord with a tiny lever which, when turned, pushes a pin through the holes, so whatever is plugged into the cord can't come unplugged. Very handy for electric lawnmowers!
when traveling my dad never brought an adapter for his european razor. Instead he would use a plug and offset it so that he could jam his european plug ontop of it. I just thought i'd share that
I hope they're not using zip ties. That's sketchy as hell. Someone can just walk up, cut the zip tie, and plug it in. Although I'm not sure I'd trust a lock that small either.
At least you have a good sense of self-awareness. 1) Pertinent question. 2) Sound research. 3) Articulate presentation. 4) Reasonable conclusion. 5) Fairly complete was of time that could have been more profitably spent on solving the Chestnut of how do they make a chocolate/vanilla ice cream cone in one go. 😏🍦 😁👍
The holes are great when you want to make an unsafe connection using wires and alligator clips! or even if you just thread the wire into the hole and tighten twist-tie style!
Then what is it? It's the best explanation I've heard so far, and if you have nothing better to offer... do try to live with the knowledge that I will spread the word of the off-white jam! ;)
Listen, I have sat and listened to this man read the manual to his microwave for 30 minutes. He has an incredible talent for making the banal interesting and engaging.
@@finalvistas9087 haha absolutely! He has a wonderful talent! His videos pair well with my ADHD. I'll be out in my day, think of something about a mundane object. I get home and find he's got a video on it. A legend.
I actually discovered the exact wiring error hinted to at 2:05 in my house, when I was (I think) less than 8 years old. My parents, who knew I could be trusted to stay safe, had given me an outlet tester to mess around with. (I was an interesting kid, and I liked things with lights on them.) I proceeded to plug it into outlets all over the house, much like TC did with the lamp cord, only ever seeing both green LED's light up. That is, until I got to the ones in the basement. When I plugged it into any of those outlets, only one of the green lights turned on, as well as the orange one, which I was excited to see lit up for the first time. "Oh, how interesting," I thought to myself, looking at the sticker with the light combinations to see what it meant. It said that this pattern means "Hot/Neutral Reverse". Now, I had no idea what that meant at the time, but since this was called an "outlet tester", I correctly reasoned that it must mean something was wrong with the outlets. I told my parents, who were previously unaware of this issue. Some time after that, we had an electrician at our house, and one of my parents mentioned this to him. Sure enough, he confirmed (and fixed) the wiring issue.
Oh god I read it wrong, and I thought your parents had gave you and outlet TOASTER, and i was imagining you as a little kid running around the house plugging a toaster in every possible outlet.
that must have felt incredible. even at my age it tends to take between months and decades before my parents or anyone else acknowledge I was ever right.
OSHA training often mentions “lockout/tag-out” as necessary on job sites where dangerous or faulty equipment could be engaged by an unqualified or unsuspecting person. The holes receive chains, plastic ties, or even small locks to prevent the device from being plugged in. Several other commenters have mentioned lockout/tag-out without mentioning OSHA. I hope this comment helps clarify the mystery. A look at OSHA regulations may inspire a follow-up video. I love your videos and your dry delivery: “As the clear plastic clearly shows.”
I'm uncertain. 🤔 Some have mentioned lockout 🔒, some have mentioned corded lawnmowers with lock in switches, or even ancient vending machines with lock in. I feel it may have been originally intended for manufacturing purposes (albeit most countries don't need that AND never did) and perhaps other manufacturers/organizations started making use of the holes for different purposes
@@Sorrowdusk Yes, I should clarify: manufacturing was likely the original reason; hence, NEMA’s reference. Their continued use, at least as far as industrial tools, furniture, etc. are concerned seems to be lockout/tag-out. The holes today seem to be referenced with any regularity only in this regard, no alliteration intended.
@@samlawhorn Ok maybe in an industrial setting that actually closely follows regulations (I've worked in an industrial setting before and no one ever did lockout-tagout on anything that plugs in to an outlet because the cord isn't long enough for it not to be in sight while doing the work so what is the point), but that wouldn't explain why virtually every home use device also has them. Surely many home use devices would have found a cheaper method that didn't involve having the holes since they aren't needed in a home setting.
@@ram89572 I was thinking that it would save money in the long run if you just made them all the same and used them regardless. But here’s the really weird thing: most of our electronics are made in China, but the Chinese versions of the same products don’t have holes in their plugs. My wife is Chinese, and pre-covid, we spent a lot of time in China. Their outlets are designed to take both the rounded European plugs and the tined American ones. They have switches on many (but not all) outlets so you can switch between 110 and 220. Most of their stuff is 220, though. Anyway, their versions of American products have tines without holes, as I said. While I do think lockout/tag-out is important for industrial settings (and yes, as you said, nobody is particularly fond of following OSHA to the letter on those sites), China may be choosing to make everything with holes to differentiate them from their Chinese counterparts at a glance and to avoid a nitpicky spec they have to track. Purely speculation, of course.
Maybe some day I'll talk about the fact that all these outlets are technically upside down.
I mean...
That's also a misconception, it's only upside down in some states and uses, it's not standard in the NEC code
Are you on Electrician Talk? I've referenced your videos there. The general consensus is in favor of pin down.
No I'm not on Electrician Talk, but I've noticed that pretty much every commercial building I've run into lately has them installed ground-up, and the printing on every receptacle I've encountered is right side up only when the ground pin is on top. Even the GFCI outlet shown here with the power switch, which is ~ 10 years old, has the "TR" logo upside down because it was installed ground-down.
For the record, I don't care about this, and until manufacturers of 90 degree cords and wall warts start making them to work with ground-up installations I'd still want the standard "face" orientation in my home. But it seems pretty clear that it's frowned upon, if not explicitly wrong.
@@TechnologyConnections it's so when a liquid spills on top of it it touches the ground first, and then the hot or neutral.
My son discovered a great use for the holes. You can insert a small paper clip through both holes at the same time so when dad unwittingly plugs it onto the wall, it emits a bright blue/white flash and scorches the plug, wall plate and wall as well as tripping the circuit breaker all with an incredible but brief sound.
Jesus christ that must have been terrifying for you considering you come from the stone age
RIP son.
@@drewm8502
Absolutely terrifying! :)
The clips are probably generating electrical/current arcs
lmao
"I suppose mayonnaise is an off-white jam..."
Sir, I'm going to have to ask you cease this train of thought *immediately*.
Jam is made from fruit. Mayo is made from eggs.
@@rosskwolfe Eggs are chicken fruit
@blalo'u You didn't stop it soon enough! Next, someone will say it's actually jelly! Oh no!!!
@@g.m.2427 I... can't say that's wrong exactly...
@@g.m.2427 So babies are people fruit?
Back in the 80s when I was a child, my parents would put a tiny padlock (like the ones used on luggage zippers) through the holes in my TV's power cord as punishment. So I always thought the holes were to prevent unauthorized use of appliances.
Did drabbit make Krav for mits!?
lockouttagout holes
You should have just replaced the plug if you couldnt remove the lock.
@@mernok2001 back then most appliances had fixed power cord.
My parents went a step further and just took the power cord for my PlayStation as punishment in the 90's. Joke was on them however, we had a VCR that used the same polarized C7 connector as the PSX, which I used to game on until they came home from work.
The holes are mainly for manufacturing alignment during over molding. But originally, the prongs were created by folding a brass strip in half and punching a hole through it. That had another purpose. Because the brass was "folded", it presented a smooth surface on the end of the prong that didn't have any 'scrubbing' action on the brass contacts, which had a tendency to oxidize. (Remember brass rings, as kids, that turned you skin green?) A hole, "punched" through the brass, presented a sharp edge that 'wiped' the contact inside the receptacle, cleaning the mating surface as the prongs were pushed in. As time moved forward and the prongs were made of solid material, and plated with non-corrosive plating, the original purpose for the hple was lost. So, NEMA enginners just tell you its for manufacturing overmolding because they don't know and don't care. The Universe doesn't seem to care; it all works fine anyway.
Btw, the polarizing prongs are a lame effort to increase the safety of one of the world's worst, exposed, high voltage connectors. If Edison had anything to do with it, then he's a baffoon, not a serious inventor. Ben Franklin could have come up with a better solution! But then... nobody asked me! :-)
Tyvm for this explanation, though I’d like a little more clarity… are you saying the holes collected extra metal debris as they slid in or out of the socket (being made of the softer folded brass rather than the hard metal used today)?
Best explanation
That scrubbing action came to mind ~so i'ze was right !
It's hard to visualize, and this GenXer has rarely seen brass. If you fold a soft strip of metal and cut it, how can that not leave a curve at the end that wouldn't fit into the socket? How can a hole that's inside a prong reach the side contacts to clean them? Wouldn't cutting a folded strip of metal also present a sharp edge? How are brass prongs not a solid material?
Thanks, the video was a waste of time
Fun fact: there are extension cords that utilize those holes and will lock with a button on top. They're great with hand tools to avoid accidental unplugging while working
I was just going to comment that! I'm curious if the lock actually indexes with the holes or if it's a tighter friction lock?
Came here to same the same thing, I in fact used it today with my grinder
I've literally never seen these in the US. I had to go to Japan to see them for the first time.
@@rocksntwigs Don't know about the US, but extension cords with locks are fairly common in Canada. Some have the button lock/unlock as Patrick mentioned, and some have a sweep lock.
Came to say the same thing - I've got replacement cord ends that lock into the holes for retention. Works great for power tools in lieu of switching everything over to the superior twist lock plug and outlet.
"I suppose mayonnaise is an off-white jam" is one of the most upsetting sentences I've heard in a while.
But is it an instrument?
@@trickvro definetly
that was a special kind of cursed comment. I kinda want to put it onto a bumper sticker just to piss people off.
😂
@@longleaf1217 I would buy that bumper sticker
The hole is for the tiny padlock to prevent someone's PlayStation from being plugged in :D
My mom would take the cord to my nes / sega. Haha
I was thinking that as well I know moms who would have done that but we are in the uk so they just cut the plug off
My grandma even locked the TV.
Mom did that once to my ps2 joke's on her my printer used the same cable so i just swapped them
actually, that's not too far off. It's not too common in residential/consumer use, but Lock Out/Tag Out (LOTO) locks are frequently used in industrial settings to ensure that heavy machinery isn't plugged in and turned on while someone's inside doing maintenance.
Probably the only TH-camr cool enough to give a tour of all the different electrical outlets in his house and have us all glued to the screen the whole (hole?) time.
What about electroboom
@@c0mbo electroboom makes u stand back a bit bracing for the explosion lol
I actually have an extension cord with a tiny lever which, when turned, pushes a pin through the holes, so whatever is plugged into the cord can't come unplugged. Very handy for electric lawnmowers!
I have a similar extension cord. It locks both male and female sides together so it doesn’t accidentally get unplugged!!
That seems like a safety hazard
@Enderlance why?
@@wolverinechris2 then again, you could also unplug the extension cord itself.
bros got a wired lawnmower lmao
"through the magic of buying multiple"
will never get old I swear
It's like cooking shows when they've already made the oven cooked thing.
Except when he does not: th-cam.com/video/udNXMAflbU8/w-d-xo.html
@@karl-linus-amsler a terrible oversight on his part :(
yo this comment chain went places O_O
At
Very intersting. I've actually wondered this exact thing before. I tend to agree with your hypothesis that it is a cultural thing, like when Motorola put a fake antenna on their flip phone because they said it didn't look right without it.
Or Buick exhaust ports. Stick em anywhere
Oh it's the iBook Guy
Another example is UHT milk in refrigerators. It doesn't need to be refrigerated, but it doesn't sit well with Americans so they do it anyway. In Europe it's just put on a regular shelf.
@@steeviebops it’s fine on the shelf before it’s opened, but it’s supposed to be refrigerated after opening.
@@mattcrooke8321 Exactly, so it doesn't need to be kept in a refrigerator in the store. Lots of things need refrigerating after opening.
The factory I work in uses them as a lock out tag out mechanism for certain small pieces of equipment. If you put a lock out tag thru the holes it can't be plugged in while being maintained.
"Dude, no way I'm watching a 20 minute video on the holes in power plugs." ~20 minutes later. "He got me again!"
The bloopers at the end always make it worthwhile
Yep. Exactly what just happened to me at 2:30 in the morning. He got me again!
@@earthlingjohn Well, I knew the answer and I just couldn't stomach his usual string of puns, so I skipped it.
He's a good guy, but he has a knack for taking 20 minutes to give a 1-minute answer, riddled with countless gut-wrenching puns. Sorry. I chose the other pill this time. #Matrix
@@jeffflowers5489 but that's what we love about TC!
When I was a kid, back in the 1960s, we had a record player that would shock you if the plug was upside down. Touch the tonearm and get shocked. It made playing records an adventure. I don't think we ever told our parents. I haven't thought of that in decades.
@@AnimationByDylanIn my mind, you’d make both another kid and another plug.
Gotta get that sweet sweet US patent.
Edit: for the plug that is….
And none of you ever thought to mark the plug to avoid getting shocked. No surprise. (but of course that would have taken all the fun out, right?)
As a European, I was wondering at the beginning of the video: "How is it possible I've never noticed US plugs are polarized, i.e. they have blades of different size?" A while later it was clear why: All such plugs I've encountered in person (not many, really) were in phone chargers and similar stuff.
Yeah not all of the two blade plugs are polarized. They’re generally only polarized if needed…A lot of modern supplies don’t require it by design, but some items its done for safety. I can totally see why you’d not notice.
Lol similar comment like mine spotted, after commenting 😅😂
I'm American and never even knew that.
Its hard to notice even if you’re American. Sure we notice the occasional rare plug needs to play the usb game but you don’t really question it. And just quickly forget about it.
Pretty much. It usually applies to things that have a metal chassis and are frequently touched, especially if they have no surrounding external circuitry that regulates current draw. Things like lamps, toasters, old radios, and such.
When I was in the Air Force working as a Precision Measurement Equipment Repairman, at the end of shift you were required to unplug all equipment on your workbench. It was a common prank to put a piece of solder through the holes on the next guy’s soldering iron and wait for them to plug it in. Makes for a real wake up call.
PMEL weenie.😁
I was PMEL Inspector #23 at Keesler in 1969 - @Uncle-Mudvalve, if I had tried something like that …now in 2024 I’d still be cranking out pushups.
I've actually used a Lockout/Tagout kit that had locks that fit over the plug and lock on using the holes, preventing one from plugging it in. Good way to make sure the new guy doesn't try to use a broken grinder.
Correct. Lock out tag out
Certainly the intended use of these holes
Having worked with a hc yes that is what the holes aka connection point interuptors are for
Definitely gotta LockOut/TagOut that hair straightener
That's a good use for that
Growing up in a developing country, I always saw those holes being used to hook/attach/tie bare wires for quick connections. I never questioned that purpose until I became fully aware of how dangerous that practice is!
Holes are used to separate tip from the rest of the connector. In other words holes are to create fuses: if wire is shortened and you insert cord into outlet tips make contact and metal around holes melts like fuse.
The us is a developing country, you're from the us?
@@cupuacu4life13
He means like brazil
@@flyingsky1559 owie
I’m younger so maybe it’s different, but we used type n or type c plugs without holes.
Fun fact: Hospital grade receptacles grip the plugs quite a bit tighter than residential or commercial grade receptacles do. Hospitals even periodically conduct a pull test on each receptacle to make sure they are within tolerance.
Makes sense. With all that oxygen occasionally floating around I imagine sparks could be a very bad thing.
You also don’t want various important equipment to unplug accidentally.
they also have a redundant ground wire
Dang, beat me to it! And those 'hospital' receptacles are usually Orange....so you know they are high-retention.
@@dougankrum3328 hospital grade receptacles are indicated with a green circle on their face regardless of face color. To my knowledge the only face color that matters is when they are red which indicates that it is fed from an emergency source of power. The receptacle will still be live when general power is out in the hospital assuming the emergency systems have functioned properly. I think the orange receptacles you are thinking of are isolated ground receptacles which have an orange face with a green triangle indication on the face. These systems have two grounds. One for grounding metal boxes and raceways and one insulated ground going straight to the ground prong on the receptacle. These insulated grounds are generally treated differently back at the panel than your general grounds.
Wait that right side pin is LIVE? I can't even imagine how many times I've almost touched that damn thing trying to pull a tight plug at a weird angle
One of the common uses for the hole is in locking vending machines so they can't be unplugged. And yes, outlets with contact bumps very much used to exist. They tear up your plugs with micro arcs.
Yeah I saw the video and remembered that I had an old two prong plug outlet from the 60s in my parts stash, sure enough I found it and tried a plug in it and it clicks into place when inserted. I looked inside and it has the little bumps on the contacts
Even if, it would be extremely easy to do the same with cheap blocade (I assume you need remove or have specialized outlet anyway) and use is so obscure that having dedicated universal solution is still pointless.
I use the holes and a small lock to prevent some things from being plugged in. Simple little lock out/tag out for home things that need repair
@Indiana Gividen Same here. I have a 100' extension cord with a locking lever that I bought maybe 10 years ago. It's a great feature, because it keeps my power tools from getting unplugged at moments that might become problematic.
I love the phrase “by the magic of buying several of them…” gets a smile from me every time 😆
I bet you still giggle at peak-a-boo, right?
@@danielduncan6806 *Fun fact:* you don't have to make fun of people for finding something funny just because you don't yourself.
(also it's "peek-a-boo" because your peeking at something, not at a mountain peak)
@@furtislast4920 Heheh, yeah, "peak-a-boo" just sounds like they're abusing sound equipment.
I got a laugh when I heard it, too!
@@danielduncan6806 yes. The answer is yes. 😂
The "mayonnaise is offwhite jam" line made me laugh out loud literally.
Your style of blunt double-meaning-humor and straight faced delivery is unique, refreshing, and makes your videos seem shorter than they are.
I also thoroughly appreciate how in depth you go, leaving no stone of information unturned.
and no outlet unplugged ;)
4:53 minecraft villager
Villager spotted!
As a Yuropean, I find these videos absolutely fascinating. Such holesome content.
@กล้วยหอมจอมซน Ürøpæan, yes
Yurope is Yuuuuge
@@ktxed my rope is bigger!
@@vidareggum6118 how many football stadiums to the rope ?
Any time wordplay with the word "European" comes up it always reminds me of some Larry the Cable Guy thing I saw when I was little where the joke was like "What does European mean? It's what you say when your boots are wet and you say"European on my boots!!!"
and that just lives in my head now and will be there for the rest of my life
I think I just always assumed that the holes were a cost-saving measure - it's only a bit less metal, but even something like 5% less material used in manufacturing adds up over millions of units.
Those blades are most likely manufactured by a subtractive manufacturing process called punching; a positive shaped punch (looks like the blade) and close-fitting negative die come together from opposite sides of the sheet stock and shear through it faster than you can blink. Subtractive manufacturing means you start with more material than you need to make the part; the extra is waste. Sure, those hole blanks are a tiny bit less material in the useful part, but that waste material required energy use to melt, cast, and roll it into the sheet stock that blade was punched from, and the waste has to be recycled in order to be useful again later, thus requiring application of energy twice before becoming an actual part. Then there's the energy it takes to punch it out, just to "throw it away"; not much energy in the scale of things, but not negligible. It also requires more complicated tooling design to remove the material, which isn't cheap either, in both production and maintenance. Depending on the type of punch press blanking the blades out, the holes may either be a second punching operation, a complicated concentric 2-stage punching die, or a die set through which the material advances, simply being struck twice in different areas of the die. Manufacturing processes always require time and energy to perform, which costs money, so removing that material has to serve a purpose or the energy expended on the feature is a waste of money.
@@ryanschmidt1437 your response makes a lot of sense. is it possible that the material from the holes is simply more valuable than the energy cost of recycling the 'waste' parts created by punching them out? making it more cost effective to punch them out and melt them back down than to buy new material over time?
lol I should have read yours before my reply. I had thought if someone had said thr same as I that he’d have been further down the list. 😁
The saving will vaporize with the cost of the tooling.
assumed manufacturing just before he said it.
"Through the magic of buying 2" will never not be amusing to me.
It's better than the full "through the magic of buying 2 and being able to write off both on my taxes" tag line.
Where I work we use the holes, not for power, but a test called dielectric strength or hi-pot. It's a safety test to verify there is no path from Line or Neutral to say a grounded metal chassis due to an arc. Since we can short the prongs using the holes and a metal clip we only need to do 1 test instead of two.
As a retired progressive die maker, my guess would be that these holes could be used as pilot holes in aligning the progressive strip of brass (or whatever material the 110v plug contacts are made from) as it moves from station to station through a progressive die.
Basically, a huge coil of brass of the thickness needed for the contacts is fed through the progressive die, one station for each press cycle, until it comes out the other end, or is cut off as the last operation to drop in the parts bucket.
The very first operation is to punch out the pilot hole in the brass strip (the hole in question), then the strip feeds to line up that punched hole under the first pilot pin. That first bullet nosed pilot pin and the rest of the pins throughout the progression precisely line up the brass strip, for whatever operation is needed next, by entering the pilot holes to move the strip into perfect alignment.
I expect that the competition for these simple parts is so fierce that as little scrap as possible is the goal, otherwise the pilot holes would not need to be part of the finished part, and the carrier full of holes would go into the scrap bin for recycling. No carrier needed would mean less scrap and a cheaper part. NEMA knows this, so just as you said, they call out where the holes can be located so as not to end up where electrical contact is to be made.
Here is an example of a progressive die that may clarify my explanation, but this part uses two carrier strips, one on each side of the part, where pilot holes are located, and the final part is cut out between them as the last step: th-cam.com/video/tc5zhOKnCyk/w-d-xo.html You can see the part drop out of the die and the two carrier strips exit to the right and into a scrap bin!
Here is a guy giving a good verbal and visual explanation of how a progressive die and the pilot holes work: th-cam.com/video/NuFpzJLMnFs/w-d-xo.html Explaining the top half of a die is included in part 2: th-cam.com/video/esbMnrKBUvE/w-d-xo.html
The bottom line is I'm guessing the finished 110v plug contacts contain the pilot holes, rather than to be cut off of a carrier strip, to cut scrap costs!
WHEW!
😊
As a child, I once wondered what would happen if I laid a small nail across a partially inserted plug. For the next 10 years I lived with a spot of molten metal splashed onto the hardwood floor to remind me of the answer. Oddly it was a red dot. My parents never grilled me for an explanation.
I stuck a key in a outlet once bc i thought I was a electrician and couldn’t get hurt bc I was a electrician
@@bpeterson3270 well , you must have survived to tell the tale
@@jasonwiley798 idk how but I just remember sticking a key in the outlet and a loud noise
@@bpeterson3270 but are you an electrician tho
I stuck a pair of tweezers into an outlet as a kid. I just remember the bright flash of light lol.
Never really thought about this. I always sort of assumed the holes were there as a janky lockout mechanism. When I worked for a pro AV company, in rentals and productions, they'd put a zip-tie through the holes on any light, amp, etc. that was needing repair. Sort of a last resort in case no one realized it was something that didn't work.
There are locks that can fit onto a plug as a lockout/tagout measure, and the locking lugs do fit right into the holes.
That's actually a great application
Sure is a better solution than doing absolutely nothing about it then laughing heartily when the next poor bastard plugs it in and makes a big bang. Ask me how I know....
Yep, AV here too. Most commonly motorized projection screens that were abandoned in place for a large format display instead; unplug the screen and zip tie through, plop back above the tile.
Ditto, we use tamper seal tags on faulty plug in equipment. Do not use until fixed.
The metal components are produced in a stamping press from a coil of sheet metal feeding into a progressive die. The registration hole provides a reference location in the metal strip to accurately position the strip. This allows a precise location for the various forming and trimming operations as the strip progresses through the die operations.
I don’t really know when or how I found this channel, but I watch every video now. There’s something really charming about the way you get so passionate over things many other people would call mundane, and the humor and editing is always fantastic. Thanks for everything, I hope you’re having a good day :)
Just broke the seal yesterday with a 45 min video about dish washer soap. Im into it.
As someone who gets weirdly detail oriented about everyday things, I find this channel incredibly cathartic.
@@spugintrntl I know right?
I have all of these questions
and he does too
and then he goes and finds the answer
it's marvelous
I know. Several months ago, the "space heater nonsense" video was blessed by The Algorithm and made its way to my recommendations. I binged the collection in short order.
Charming? Charming? What’s so charming about someone who wines over everything?
In my experience, it's so you can twist bare wires through the holes for extra sketchy situations.
Ahh yes that famous picture of a PlayStation 2 being used this way.
I did that all the time in my misspent youth!
To be fair, that's what I've always assumed they are for!
lock out tag out
This comment has me concerned...
"The toads over at NEMA" is an unreasonably good joke.
but nematodes are not reptilians...
@@Ugly_German_Truths Neither are toads...
Toads are amphibians.
@@syriuszb8611 Damn, i wanted to type amphibians ... no idea what i was watching at that moment, the TC video was already finished... must have been good to distract me so much. Meh, won't correct it now you already did.
Not if you're not American and have no idea what NEMA is!
@@paulhaynes8045 The joke doesn't need you to know what NEMA is though. It's literally nematodes, and that's a delicious pun.
Additional to the points about codifying the hole position - It allows makers of sockets to build contacts that can be guaranteed to not depend on that position being the contact patch
When I was a kid, my dad put a mini pad lock through the TV plug to stop us from watching it. This is also how I learned to pick a lock with a paper clip.
I worked at a plant where they put plastic ties through the holes on malfunctioning or under maintenance piece of equipment. Usually with a tag with a initial, date and reason, so the equipment couldn’t accidentally be plugged in.
Lock out, tag out. Exactly.
There are extension cords that make use of these holes with a locking lever that drops a pin in. Works great when you're dragging around a corded power tool to keep it from coming unplugged instead of tying the cords together.
Exactly, I remember that from a job I had in the 70s and they had pinned extension cords and they were 50' heavy duty cords.
I can find these things all over the place, though I am in Canada
I was going to comment on this but thought I should see if anyone else mentioned it first. Didn't want to be redundant. Very useful design for connecting multiple extension cords and being able to drag them around without them disconnecting.
I was looking for this comment. I've even got one for doing yardwork with electric tools.
True. But that's because they made use of a legacy design. It was a brilliant idea and I have several of said cords myself.
The holes are there for a means of LOTO. Lock out tag out. You can run a zip tie or something similar through the holes to prevent the device from being plugged in in the case that the device is Unsafe to be powered up.
"It's always been like that, no one knows why."
Reminds me of an anecdote.
A little girl, seeing her mother cut off the top ¼ of the Thanksgiving turkey, asked why. The mother said, "I don't know, my mother always did it." After thinking about it, the mother wanted to know, so she called her mother (the little girl's grandmother) and asked. The grandmother said, "I don't know, my mother always did it." After thinking about it, the grandmother wanted to know, so she called her mother (the little girl's great grandmother) and asked. The great grandmother said, "I did it because my baking pan was too small."
Mind if I steal this story for use elsewhere? It's very good
@@Copyright_Infringement Have at it. It's not my joke. There's probably many variations of it, but the punchline is the same.
Ha! Women. They don’t change.
@@Copyright_Infringement I've heard many versions of this story. I'm not sure anyone knows who wrote the original. I also find it ironic that someone with your username would bother to ask.
version I heard is, never leaving stuff in the kitchen without a bowl on top. Daughter doesn't know why, but keeps up the habit through adulthood. One day she asks, and is told "because we had cats".
The opposite of “through the magic of buying two” should be “through the misfortune of only buying one”. 😀
Get the spammer outa here
@@jacksong6226 On desktop: mouse over the comment, click the 3 vertical dots, then "Report". Then choose the reason (I went with spam).
@@AaronOfMpls it is technically considered pornography, spam doesnt even get removed except by the channel's moderation
I'm a licensed electrician from Canada. The only use I've seen for those holes are for some extention cords that have locking mechanism in them and you have to push on the sides of the female side to unlock and remove the male. Also the receptacle you wanted at 18m00 are easily found in bathroom fans. They are not rated CSA and made really really cheap.
Home Depot sells a heftier version but you must install it yourself.
18:00
My condo was built in the '80s, and all of the outlets and switches were original until I moved in. The only outlet in the entire place that was worn to the point where plugs didn't stay put was in a hallway across from the washer and dryer. Given the position and size of the hallway, this was probably where ironing was done near daily, and being central to the condo it's probably where a vacuum would be plugged in frequently.
Alternative title: Technology Man makes sure all of the outlets in his house are getting some at least once.
@Oskar winters Eggs are technically chicken fruit. They contain a "seed" inside (the actual chick) and and the egg itself contains the seed, kind of like a fruit
Living in NZ, where our slots are slanted away from each other and always have a power switch, this is like watching TV from an alternate dimension.
as dankpods said "make it aussie" before bending the plug on a switching supply with pliers.
Is Jacinda Ardin's brother Canada's Trudeau? They look like peas in a pod.. But a very twisted sick evil pod. In India which is 220V we used plug in dip in the cup water boilers to make tea. They energize the cups which were stainless steel so if u accidently touch the cup it doesn't tickle.
@@HappyBeezerStudios I think in the stupid iPod accessories video
You are now entering.. The Twilight Zone
The call and responses with yourself never cease to tickle me. "That's silly. Indeed it is! So was that (w)hole sequence."
A man of culture I see
Sup fellow medic Chad.
@@agnez1739 YOU HAVE NO POWER HERE!!! Go back to China, or whatever country you're from
uwu
@AGGREY ESENDI OGADA I feel I should point out that proselytization is highly unethical, not to mention annoying and socially unacceptable if conducted through media not intended for this purpose.
Sir, your sense of humor is a national treasure. The hole sequence was just impressive.
I can answer this question of were their nipples in sockets. The holes came first, the nipples were a after thought, a situation of "hey there's a thing lets find a use for it!" Having worked in an antique store and dealt with old wall sockets from the pre 1930's, I can attest that indeed there USED to be electrical sockets that did have a nipple that gripped onto the holes. However this was NOT something that was standard or even required in wall sockets. Some old pre 30's sockets looked like the old off white ones you showed with the u shaped contact AND behind that a separate u shaped pinch with a small nipple or raised area which would in theory grip the hole. This separate piece design prevented the wearing out of the contact pin as you stated would happen if a nipple was present, as the contact is never stretched. Now your probably asking yourself why include this as the contact grabs strongly on its own. The answer lies in the EARLY days of home electrification, see until post world war 2 electrification in the home was mostly for ceiling based lighting. And many poorer homes had no wall sockets until after the building boom of the 40's and 50's, just a few lamps from ceilings and maybe a stray wall socket here and there. As such manufacturers developed Edison socket plug adapters that screwed in and provided a nema plug socket, which meant that any plug would hang downward from it. As such some manufacturers of ceiling lamps with built in plugs and separate socket adapters introduced the nipple as a way to more firmly secure a plug hanging from a socket. However these had a big draw back...arcing. Nipples were not uniform in shape and metal contacts for plugs tended to be extremely thin, as such when the contacts passed between the nipples the fit wasn't unifrom leaving a gap, which would create arcing which generated heat, resistance and if enough current was passing through could spot weld the prong of the plug to the socket. After world war 2 and the great housing boom of the 40's and 50's the age of syphoning energy from ceiling fixtures mostly came to an end. But more importantly the nipple fad vanished as polarized plugs (which had been around since the 1890's!) Finally became the standard in the 50's and wall sockets became the norm in new home constructions. It was a semi useful quirk of the early days that had a quasi meaningful use but ultimately was just a fad. Modern edison socket adaptors and hanging lamp sockets with plugs all use grounding pins which provide all the needed extra grip. So nipples like on men serve no purpose anymore.
fascinating explanation! thank you
Thx for sharing! Wasn't expecting that last line XD
Gladly I skipped the VDO and read this comment.
"Nipples on men serve no purpose"
My, what a sheltered life you must have led. 😉
US plugs contain lot of antiquated solutions in general. They are straight horrible! Polarization as interesting it is, basically is irrelevant in most modern devices. It is also quite funny that grounded variant has modern pin.
Not an intended use, but I imagine the holes would be useful for "locking out" faulty equipment. You can pass the tag through the holes, or even a cut-resistent wire and actual lock.
Thats the actual use for the holes Lock Out Tag Out
The wire may be cut-resistant but the sides of the holes are not. In Europe, my mom would just hide the PC power cables to prevent me from gaming. With the help of 2 wires I was back into gaming in no time.
When I was grounded from the TV, My mom would run a tiny pad lock through them while she was out 😂
@@miro-hristov The point of Lock Out Tag Out isn't really about device security, but rather a visible, hopefully obvious reminder that the cord you're holding SHOULD NOT be plugged in. Most of the locks I've ever used are a string of plastic beads that is absolutely less secure than even a cheap zip tie, so it's completely designed with safety, not security, in mind.
That was what I thought the holes were for. Preventing them from being plugged in when you are working on the device or there's a known short or other problem with the device.
As someone who has been to the US as a tourist: Imagine trying to use a well-worn hotel room socket with the weight of a travel adaptor (hard mode: BS 1363 travel adaptor) combined with a typical USB charger. I didn't experience them falling out but the angle was often precarious leading to poor connection or exposing the live pins for extra excitement. And this was with the wall sockets.
When traveling, a small roll of tape with aggressive adhesive has many uses. Duct tape, gaffer's tape, aluminum foil tape.
@@lorenzoboyd6889 Why my, just bend the pins a little like I do.
It will plug as hard as a circuit breaker switch.
that's so smart. just don't bend it too hard or it'll probably lose it's structure
@@lorenzoboyd6889 if I have this problem again I'd probably just get a small trailing extension lead, would take the weight off the socket then
Had similar experience in Japan. Often required some creativity to make it work
Alec is probably the only person I could listen talking for 20 minutes about NEMA plugs.
I have an extension cord that specifically locks into those holes, removing the plug from the cord requires you to press a button. I bought it a few years ago. It's awesome, I wish they all did that.
We have these hundred-foot outdoor winter extension cords. On the inlet end is a little switch thing you can turn that shoves a pin through the holes of a connecting cable, helping prevent it coming unplugged.
Makes sense for an extension cord but a little dangerous for a wall outlet because that is an extra step incase of dangerou.
Yea, I was just coming to the comments to say the same thing. I personally love it for using things outside in the winter, it really helps.
I bought an extention cord from Lowes in 2015 that has a locking lever that seems to engage the holes.
"... mayonnaise is an off-white jam" might be the most upsetting thing I've ever heard you say on this or any other channel, even in brief guest appearances like on that losing connection gameshow Tom Scott did that time.
Absolutely. It would be a jelly if anything, because a jam would be mayonnaise with hard boiled egg bits in it
Every time I start watching a TC video, I think, "How can he spend 20 minutes on this?"
20 minutes later...
"Wow. I get it now."
Love your channel!
If you don't enjoy this guy rattling on in a meandering way then maybe 20 minutes is too much till the 'I get it phase'.
He did seem to purposely make this video as long as possible. 😴
He also didn't tell us if the longer blade is the live current side and, now I am wondering about that.
Had the same thought,just answer it. Well watched all twenty minutes and became more curious about all the possibilities.
I was wondering the same thing, but glad I stayed to the end
@@goodtobehandy I started guessing lol... (maybe to save money on material😆)
so here we go... I know I have a 3-some-year-old comment below with 3 updoots but: I remember seeing quite a few really old plugs that only had a hole through the outside layer of metal and not the inside.
They're registering dimples/holes for manufacturing purposes specifically to ensure correct depth in the slots before the wires are crimped and soldered in and the assembly including the holding block is moved on to the casting process
outlets HAVE been made with bumps to register to these registering dimples, also the protective covers often have bumps that fit into them from the factor or you'll end up with a pull-tie stuck through them
you can buy plug-locks that require a key which register locking lugs into the holes
the holes reduce the probability of the plug corrosion-welding into a socket as well
When you said the plugs without holes seem wrong, I really related to that. The few times I’ve seen them without I always associated them with cheapness or laziness.
While in the military, I was the "safety guy" we had "Lock-out, Tag-out" devices that would use the two holes to prevent someone from plugging the device in & shocking someone else!
Did he ever actually get to the point and say definitively what the holes are for? I do like the notion of a lock-out device.
The hotel issue is a pet peeve of mine, too.
@@jimirwin7998 Yes he did. Did you bother to watch the whole thing?
I am fairly certain that the holes predate OSHA. Them being used as an alignment mechanism during production makes way more sense.
@@cam4636 well obviously he didn't if he is asking if he explained what the purpose for
Like you I thought the holes were for lock out tag out because of my military training. I believe lock out tag out is a common practice in civilian industrial applications as well. Can any factory maintenance guys out there verify this? Strange that he didn't even mention this practice.
Technology Connections: "Im just speculating, leave your comment below."
Big Prong: "Oh no they're on to us!"
Holes in plugs are very important for safety within workplaces, I used to work in maintenance and to lockout tagout procedures sometimes require you to prevent certain equipment from being turned on, lots of items have mechanisms after you attach a lock that they can't be turned on some you can put a padlock right through those holes so no one can plug it into a wall
15:34 ""I'd welcome any nematodes out there to fill us in on any details" is one of the funniest puns on this channel
Though the subtitles render it as "NEMA toads".
"The toads over at NEMA" is such an incredibly underrated line!
Is it a riff on nematodes?
The video's been out for less than 24 hours... how could any line be underrated?
C. elegans is my favorite species of nematode
@@MrEazyE357 Yes. It's even a setup line for a later payoff
@@jfo738 Is Arabidopsis thaliana your favorite flower? =D
I have used several extension cords with locking pegs, very useful when you're using electric hand tools!
I have a corded electric lawnmower and it's nice not having to worry about yanking the cords apart as you're pushing it.
Also very ruinous since instead of just harmlessly disconnecting the plug, you eventually end up pulling the cord/crimps/solders apart and voila, some mangled live wires free to touch whatever they want!
Yeah, I came here just to mention the extension cords I have that lock, really useful for hand tools
My solution to this problem is to loosely tie the two ends together before plugging (just a simple loop), loose enough to not damage the wires but not too much to not waste wire length or get in the way. This way if you tug them, it just tightens the knot. Of course, if you tug it WAY too hard, you'll remove it from the power outlet or mess up the wires, hopefully the former..
@@FiltyIncognito, I have never seen anything like that with our very grippy Schukos. Maybe try having better extension cords that don't fall apart?
Your pretty cool to take time explaining things I didn't think would be very interesting. Keep up the great work. Subscribed
"The todes over at NEMA" is a phenomenal joke
Honestly, my first thought was that I wouldn't be surprised if the entire motivation for creating this video was to be able to finally use that joke.
NEMAtoads meep meep
terrifying pfp
@@ApolloSniperman nematODES but what is a todes? or ist it toads over at NEMA?
@@stefanmenzel263 Toads? Todes? Chodes? At this point, who even knows? Surely not I.
As an employee I was made the "safety guy" at several heavy equipment/manufacturing occupations. In each one they had their own training. Most of the training was "word of mouth" rather than an official documentation. I was taught throughout the industry that those holes were used for "Lock Out" situations. When a particular piece of equipment was either currently under repairs or scheduled for repairs, said piece of equipment received an actual lock to keep anyone from using it. Usually inserted through one or both holes. It would also receive a tag by the person who locked it. With the information why and when it was locked. This in turn kept anyone from accidentally plugging it in while under repairs to prevent the technician from being electrocuted. To learn that you've done your research and never came across this explanation was an eye opener.
I once saw a meme where it suggested that parents insert a lock through the locks of their child's phone / tablet charger. Something to the effect of watch the look on their face as the battery slowly runs out... I suppose that could be the case in some limited circumstances. I suspect however that most things that are 120 volt are probably something where lock out / tag out aren't totally necessary. (I am thinking the exception might be some kind of shredder?) Although something that is perhaps 240 volts (or larger) might be something that needs to be locked out maybe. That is so long as the lock prevents the plug from coming into contact with any contact inside the plug.
Our electrical team simply cut the plug off, for sure eliminating future of the appliance until the devise was repaired , and a new plug wired to the cord. On heavy industrial equipment, all people involved with the repairs were required to follow lock out-tag out procedure. The main power would be locked off by all involved with individual locks using a multi hole clamp on the switch, then all keys inserted into a "lock box". Only the supervisor had the sole key that would open the lock box. All personnel would have to be accounted for and asked to certify if it was safe to restore power. Only then would the machine be returned to service. There were repercussions to those who did not follow this safety procedure.
and a 20 minute video to boot!
This is a common think that people use it for - but it isn't why it exists
Those holes are used by many construction-grade extension cords as a lock to prevent accidental unplugging. The outlet on the extension has a simple plastic lever that engages pins inside the outlet lined up with the holes.
It seems likely that those are people taking advantage of the holes that happen to exist for manufacturing purposes rather than the reason the holes exist.
We used to just tie the x cords together and plug them in but what you explained probably works better
I believe you. But I've been an electrician for 20 years and I've never seen this.
@@88porpoise they may exist for manufacturing more broadly today, but the NEMA requirement that they are in the exact place on every plug may imply that the original usage served one or both purposes.
Would love to see a link for one!!
Another fully thought out video, well done man, I wish more people thought things through as much as you do, keep goin and never stop
This episode really helped highlight how much I really like this channel, it satisfies my random curiosity itch on things Ive thought about but never looked into.
@@agnez1739 was An Impostor.
1 Impostor remains.
@@AurumFaber *there is another*
"The toads over at NEMA" -Alec, 2021
That's a joke that can easily pass you by, bravo. And yeah, guess we're just stuck with it
the same way we just expect outlets to be pure white, or in some cases beige. If you were capable
of speaking with this much detail about electrical systems in other countries that'd be interesting imo
And by capable, I just mean informed. Because it's logical to know more about something you live with
Even though it's not that big of a deal in this day and age, I find Japan's split north/south grid fascinating
Maybe it's an American joke or a joke a more native English person would get, but I don't get it.. Could you care to explain the NEMA toads joke?
@@supernenechi Well it may or may not have been a nematode pun, but that's all I can think about now. So, thanks.
@@supernenechi "Nematodes".
Roundworms.
@@chimp163 Yup, toads is funny in its own condescending way, but I totally believe it was an intentional setup to demote them to worms later in the video.
@@agnez1739 nobody wants sucky sucky Ling ling
I wouldn't say that taking an outlet apart is dangerous, I'd say taking a mounted outlet apart is dangerous. Buy a new one that's not attached to anything and you can mess as much as you want
just turn the breaker off and verify with a tested voltage meter that there is no voltage present
if you put it back together and try to use it as normal it can be dangerous if you fd it up. thus its dangerous
The alleged "bad design" of our plug is just ridiculous. That little stunt at the end, I've never seen anyone do it. I can ruin any plug you show me if I determined to do ridiculous things.
It's just like our allegedly bad 120v standard for appliances. Never seemed to have caused me any trouble in my 50 plus years. The only negative about it is for dumb ideas like electric tea pots. But high power devices can work fine because 240 is an option and most houses have them in certain places where high power devices will be, like a stove where natural gas is not available.
@@theendofit Well you'd have to be an idiot to do that...well...yeah, you're right. Someone WILL do that. lol
Are you crazy?! It could still be filled with electricity!!!
A locking-socket extension cord turned up in my store last month. It has a sliding sleeve which causes two pins to engage those holes. Works a treat AFAICT.
I always though that they were for safety devices that prevent something from being plugged in. I’ve seen padlocks used with these holes to prevent equipment being used on job sites. But manufacturing makes sense.
Are you thinking of like a lockout tag out situation? If so I've seen that. Or if you just want to mess with your coworkers computer when they are late
I came here to say this
I believe this is the reason, for lockout of faulty equipment with a small padlock
Yes, I think this was the original idea, whether or not it took hold for low current devices in the end.
That hole in the lock is for if you ever lost your keys on good locks there won't any hole
"Mayonnaise is an off-white jam." has "Hot dog is a sandwich" energy.
Well said.
pfft Hotdogs are German tacos
@@cmelton6796 lol, German tacos xD
Hot dogs are sandwiches.
@@cmelton6796 Sandwiches are sauerkraut
I approve this emerging 'Google gives weird received wisdom rather than factual answers' series.
Google is the ministry of truth. Nothing but bullshit.
Goodfact is one thing, but replacing Realfact with Popfact is Badword too far.
@@professorfukyu744 You’re so edgy. Do you have a newsletter?
Google gives you *an* answer, but usually not the *correct* answer.
@@professorfukyu744 This in and of itself is received wisdom and shouldn't be taken seriously. The generalization makes the whole claim weird and wrong
The only time I've encountered loose wall outlets was a house built in the 30s, lived in by a carpenter that had a habit of cutting off ground prongs because they were presumably "new and unnecessary" to him. To be fair, many of the outlets in the house were still only 2-prong outlets and electricity was effectively magic to the carpenter born in 1905 in what I can only assume was off a dirt road in French Canada. Dude lived a hundred years and had his wit until his last day. He managed far more life than I probably will and didn't light the house on fire with his insane approach to electricity, so I can't fault him too much
There's always that one receptacle in hotel rooms which is fully worn out. Can you guess which? It's the one housekeeping uses for the vacuum.
From my experience, many sockets at airports and on planes also have this problem.
That must suck
Well you gotta use something, and naturally you want to find the outlet that's the most centralized in the room so you don't have to move the plug a bunch of times (esp cause they don't exactly give you all day to clean each room)
As a hotel housekeeper... i almost never use the same plug in every room as a default. All depends on where i have to start the process of cleaning... which often depends on where the mess in a room is.
@@wolfsbaneandnightshade2166 how long the cord is and how big the room is would vary that as well; kinda inconvenient to use outlets that you can’t reach the whole room with
I've an outdoor extension cord sold for electric lawn mowers that engages these holes with a lever mechanism. Not even old; but it does use plastic to retain the blades.
I've seen these too. The lever is something you engage manually after the plug is inserted, right? I wonder how many people actually use them.
I had one as well.
I wish extension cords had these. Couldn't tell you how many times they come unplugged while working with long extensions
@@rcyalater...2305 just put a slip knot before plugging it.
I have at least three outdoor three hole extension cords with the lock to keep the cord connected.
2:57 In Chile you can put a plug the other way arround, and yes, the toaster is always a taser, and we use 220v
I've seen the holes used to ensure that a device can't be plugged in by inserting a small lock or zip tie with tag on - Lock Out/Tag Out.
Some Bunn Coffeemakers come with a warning tag ziptied through the holes on the plug, telling the buyer to make sure to read at least the quick instructions before plugging it in. This is because if the user does not fill the reservoir before plugging the machine in, it will rapidly burn out the heating element and be a fire hazard.
@@Woden325 That makes sense...in a way...seems like a design oversight. I've had my crews zip-tie tags to the plugs through the hole of bad equipment to keep it from being used. I never assumed they were put there for that reason - just a "happy accident".
@@justinahole336 It's one of those feature/bug situations. Basically, the coffee maker keeps a reservoir of water hot all the time for rapid brewing. This is the opposite of a typical home coffee maker, where it's only switched on when someone is ready to brew. Hence the warning note on the plug (and another one stuck over the power switch).
If it helps I can confirm the presence of holes for manufacturing, sort of, and from personal experience. Ages ago when they required/taught tech ed in middle school, I made a night light in class. Two brass blades, a bulb, and a resistor, place inside a paper cup and fill the cup with resin. We drilled holes in the blade so they could be supported by a dowel and wouldn't fall into the resin while it was curing.
An actual useful class? Lucky.
"Off-white jam" "Optionally smooth jazz" Your writing is divine. Also, "myriad". Thank god you used it how you used it. Subscribed because of that alone.
NEMA toads got me absolutely rolling.
@@mikehall3976 The first time he said it I thought "huh, he's got some really political feelings about NEMA". The second time it managed to tickle the parasite-oriented part of my atrophied brain. Just brilliant.
Good catch, most people say "a" myriad "of" which just destroys the word.
Where/when does he use Myriad?
@@saganandroid4175 last third or so
As a former safety engineer, I always figured the holes were there to allow for a plug to be locked out. Although I never saw it actually done that way with a 110v plug. I've only seen a 110v plug "locked out" with a padlocked cover over the entire plug.
The holes are for when my grandpa wanted to "get some electric" and he just wound a couple of wires through the holes and suspended the plug between a couple bricks. He lived till 103.
What do you mean? He plugged an outlet into an outlet to get an outlet?
Wait.... what? What did he do with the electric?
@@BenderdickCumbersnatch he got it
I've done that a few times. Don't know if I'll live to 103, though.
@@kngofbng what does it mean? How do you do this
"It typically takes decades for a receptacle to wear to that point"
*laughs in cheap apartment*
Sameeee
Our house was built in late 2003 - just as all manufacturing moved to China. I've had to replace every receptacle that has seen even moderate use.
Yup.
As someone who recently moved into an apartment with really bad outlets, learn how to replace them. It's honestly really easy if you're even moderately handy, and not at all dangerous if you just turn off the breaker before working on anything (I cannot stress this enough, get an outlet tester. For like $10 you can get a tester that will tell you if an outlet has power and if its wired correctly). The actual parts are like $1-2 each, for like $10 I replaced all the worn out outlets in my apartment, and now none of my plugs are falling out.
Yeeep.
As an Australian, I have never in my life encountered any plug with holes in it. Some with resistant tips (to ensure that the plug is fully inserted before it is live) but never holes. So I suspect this may just be an American thing. Australian plugs can't go in the wrong way, either - the prongs are angled away from each other, so even if they don't have a ground pin, they are strictly one-way devices.
I've got to say that I also found it surprising to learn earlier in my life that power sockets elsewhere in the world are not necessarily switched. Every wall power socket I have ever seen or interacted with has a switch dedicated to it. Possibly there may be some industrial ones or something that break this rule, but from the perspective of general purpose use, all our power sockets are switched at least at the wall. You can get powerboards (aka power strips) that are just tied to the wall switch, though you can also get them with a switch for each plug on those as well. I guess this is like the PAL vs. NTSC thing - we benefited from the mistakes made in earlier, American versions.
@Fatally Orange I think maybe the labelling is deemed unnecessary because flicking down is always on. If it’s a power board, the switches are always above the socket from what I’ve seen. And the plug itself has a normal upper and lower side as well because of the angled shape.
I reckon as mentioned above, the differences are definitely in large part because the standards here were invented far later and all the lessons from other designs were able to be factored in. And changing standards for things is not something that happens for this sort of thing in the US. And to be fair this particular standard would be a big hassle to change nowadays with everyone owning dozens of devices each with these plugs
@@AlphaGeekgirl yeah agreed. Although 50 years ago maybe lots of people would have basically just had 1 tv, an alarm clock and a couple lamps etc so there’s more devices now and more reliance on them. Whereas for metric it’s probably fairly similar in terms of the things people have to measure etc. Both are technically doable. It would have been a hassle for the countries even back in the day who changed to metric etc
I think I saw holes on a really ancient Aussie plug (bakelite era), but they were much smaller than the ones on the American pins. Agree the inherent polarisation on the Aussie plug is a plus (the polarised US one looks as if it's like at USB A plug: third attempt shall work). Down side was the exposure of the pins for a half inserted-plug - now fixed but the pins are weaker as a result.
I used to wonder whether using IEC C13 and C14 connectors for wall outlets should be an acceptable alternative, but that may be too hard!
Hm. Being originally from the UK where sockets (not “outlets”) were all switched, though no-one I ever knew actually used said switches, I have a few comments about the US electrical system:
1. Plugs are fragile. You’ll see several people commenting about the fact that earth (“ground”) pins break off. And I have seen this. Can’t comment on the Aussie plugs, but the (best in the world) MK 13A plugs I used in the UK didn’t break at all, ever, even when you stepped on them in the dark and screamed about them being super-Legoes!
2. All the examples that Alec showed have relatively solid pins. However there are low-amperage extension cords with the pins made from a sheet of relatively thin brass (brass plated?) metal bent over. Typically they have been bent out of true when you encounter them and they require some manipulation to get them back into true so you can use them again.
3. This business about plugs falling out of sockets. The best in the world except for clunkiness and Lego problem UK 13A plug never falls out of its socket because of the springs trying to push the shutters closed.
Etc. The only thing wrong with UK plugs is that they’re large!
They're ubiquitous in North America
I was trained that those holes are used in lock-out/tag-out procedures for installing the safety clip. When a device is under repair it’s to prevent someone from plugging it in.
There's locking extension cords that latch into that hole to keep them from coming unplugged while cords get dragged or moved on jobsites. They work pretty good until the first guy that doesn't know about it rips harder when it doesn't come unplugged. Then they work worse than a regular non-locking cord.
Oh nooo. Nobody gonna listen wisdom is always lost
As a kid in the 1960s, we had one of those locking extension cords for an electric lawnmower. You pressed two buttons on the socket to disengage the plug. But it's just as easy to keep cords from pulling apart by tying them in a single overhand knot before connecting.
@@philkarn1761 I find the knot method snags more often than locking plugs
@@danielwesser9881 and formally is a hazard, because cables are i suboptimal state (likely they wouldn't overheat during short span of use)
This seems pretty dangerous. What if somebody would be shortening the power to ground and you would like to unplug it. You could not because of the locking - super :)
"So was that whole sequence." Delivery so dry it belongs in a desert, and made me smile.
You mean, that..."hole" sequence.
_(groan)_
California called; it wants its only notable attribute back.
I actually have an extension cord with a tiny lever which, when turned, pushes a pin through the holes, so whatever is plugged into the cord can't come unplugged. Very handy for electric lawnmowers!
I’ve seen people use them to “lockout” plugs by using zip ties or actual padlocks to prevent someone from inserting them into an outlet.
when traveling my dad never brought an adapter for his european razor.
Instead he would use a plug and offset it so that he could jam his european plug ontop of it.
I just thought i'd share that
I hope they're not using zip ties. That's sketchy as hell. Someone can just walk up, cut the zip tie, and plug it in. Although I'm not sure I'd trust a lock that small either.
@@mjc0961would you rather no indication of a problem at all or an indicator that takes conscious action to remove?
At least you have a good sense of self-awareness.
1) Pertinent question.
2) Sound research.
3) Articulate presentation.
4) Reasonable conclusion.
5) Fairly complete was of time that could have been more profitably spent on solving the Chestnut of how do they make a chocolate/vanilla ice cream cone in one go.
😏🍦
😁👍
The holes are great when you want to make an unsafe connection using wires and alligator clips! or even if you just thread the wire into the hole and tighten twist-tie style!
both of my grandfathers did this
I thought that was why the holes were there in the first place
Yes, seen a lot of those 😍
I burnt up two tiny motors in my bed room as a kid doing this. I don't know how I'm alive today...
@@Loady420 You have been deem worthy by fate! ^_^
"...mayonnaise is an off-white jam."
Never say that again.
🤣
_...mayonnaise is an off-white jam._ 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭
YES. Didn't like that.
I didn't wake up today thinking I'd have to contemplate my definition of jams. He can keep that opinion in his pocket.
Then what is it? It's the best explanation I've heard so far, and if you have nothing better to offer... do try to live with the knowledge that I will spread the word of the off-white jam! ;)
@@herrpez you stop that.
Call it a puree, pudding, paste, or a weak flan, but a jam it shall not be. 😜
Me: "Why is there a 20 minute video about two holes in plugs?"
Also me: "imma watch the whole thing"
Listen, I have sat and listened to this man read the manual to his microwave for 30 minutes. He has an incredible talent for making the banal interesting and engaging.
@@finalvistas9087 haha absolutely! He has a wonderful talent! His videos pair well with my ADHD. I'll be out in my day, think of something about a mundane object. I get home and find he's got a video on it. A legend.
Sure everyone was thinking the same thing. It’s to bad plugs with out holes look cheap
It has over a million views
Basically.
😂 “The toads over at NEMA” and then “nematodes” (or NEMA-toads) both had me laughing HARD!! 😂
Thank you for that…. I really needed it today 😊
I actually discovered the exact wiring error hinted to at 2:05 in my house, when I was (I think) less than 8 years old. My parents, who knew I could be trusted to stay safe, had given me an outlet tester to mess around with. (I was an interesting kid, and I liked things with lights on them.) I proceeded to plug it into outlets all over the house, much like TC did with the lamp cord, only ever seeing both green LED's light up.
That is, until I got to the ones in the basement. When I plugged it into any of those outlets, only one of the green lights turned on, as well as the orange one, which I was excited to see lit up for the first time. "Oh, how interesting," I thought to myself, looking at the sticker with the light combinations to see what it meant. It said that this pattern means "Hot/Neutral Reverse". Now, I had no idea what that meant at the time, but since this was called an "outlet tester", I correctly reasoned that it must mean something was wrong with the outlets. I told my parents, who were previously unaware of this issue. Some time after that, we had an electrician at our house, and one of my parents mentioned this to him. Sure enough, he confirmed (and fixed) the wiring issue.
Oh god I read it wrong, and I thought your parents had gave you and outlet TOASTER, and i was imagining you as a little kid running around the house plugging a toaster in every possible outlet.
@@bernardorodriguez85 That is adorable
@@bernardorodriguez85 It's an outlet toaster a fancy name for a U-shaped piece of wire?
@@unfa00 I'm gonna say... yes, yes it is.
that must have felt incredible.
even at my age it tends to take between months and decades before my parents or anyone else acknowledge I was ever right.
This proves I really will watch anything. Greetings from the UK.
Ditto
@@alvinharp3437 from Melbourne Australia
Yep . Cheers
Technology connections is always a fun watch
Greetings from Lancashire
OSHA training often mentions “lockout/tag-out” as necessary on job sites where dangerous or faulty equipment could be engaged by an unqualified or unsuspecting person. The holes receive chains, plastic ties, or even small locks to prevent the device from being plugged in. Several other commenters have mentioned lockout/tag-out without mentioning OSHA. I hope this comment helps clarify the mystery. A look at OSHA regulations may inspire a follow-up video.
I love your videos and your dry delivery: “As the clear plastic clearly shows.”
I'm uncertain. 🤔 Some have mentioned lockout 🔒, some have mentioned corded lawnmowers with lock in switches, or even ancient vending machines with lock in. I feel it may have been originally intended for manufacturing purposes (albeit most countries don't need that AND never did) and perhaps other manufacturers/organizations started making use of the holes for different purposes
@@Sorrowdusk Yes, I should clarify: manufacturing was likely the original reason; hence, NEMA’s reference. Their continued use, at least as far as industrial tools, furniture, etc. are concerned seems to be lockout/tag-out. The holes today seem to be referenced with any regularity only in this regard, no alliteration intended.
@@samlawhorn but i love alliteration
@@samlawhorn Ok maybe in an industrial setting that actually closely follows regulations (I've worked in an industrial setting before and no one ever did lockout-tagout on anything that plugs in to an outlet because the cord isn't long enough for it not to be in sight while doing the work so what is the point), but that wouldn't explain why virtually every home use device also has them. Surely many home use devices would have found a cheaper method that didn't involve having the holes since they aren't needed in a home setting.
@@ram89572 I was thinking that it would save money in the long run if you just made them all the same and used them regardless. But here’s the really weird thing: most of our electronics are made in China, but the Chinese versions of the same products don’t have holes in their plugs. My wife is Chinese, and pre-covid, we spent a lot of time in China. Their outlets are designed to take both the rounded European plugs and the tined American ones. They have switches on many (but not all) outlets so you can switch between 110 and 220. Most of their stuff is 220, though. Anyway, their versions of American products have tines without holes, as I said. While I do think lockout/tag-out is important for industrial settings (and yes, as you said, nobody is particularly fond of following OSHA to the letter on those sites), China may be choosing to make everything with holes to differentiate them from their Chinese counterparts at a glance and to avoid a nitpicky spec they have to track. Purely speculation, of course.
Genuinely have no clue how I got to your page, but I did! :D I appreciate you taking the time and teaching us something new!