While travelling last week I came across this in my hotel room, this seems like a fantastic way to have your USB C powered device's chassis float to 120V live if you use it wrong enough in the dark

@benjojo are there at least shutters?

@noisytoot I.. don't think there were

@benjojo their scared little faces freak me out.

@TGG303 The American outlets really do score #1 on the "face expression" leader board

@benjojo The "TR" marking means that it's tamper-resistant and has a shutter that won't open unless power and neutral are both pressed open at the same time, so you should be safe unless you blindly stab *two* USB-C cables into there at once.

@roguelazer Aaah! Good to know, I mean I am not sticking my devices into such wall sockets anyway, but still good to know for other souls out there

@benjojo tbh i dont think USB-C is long enough to make contact

@benjojo it's wild because I'm pretty sure their plugs only have 2 pins not 3 so what is the 'mouth' for 🤔🤔🤷🏼‍♀️

@TGG303 ground!

@TGG303

I thought that was only me!

@benjojo

NEMA sockets were a mistake

@novenary North American sockets are easily the worst

@yassie_j absolutely
CEE 7 is the gold standard imo, BS 1363 is alright, pretty much everything else is an abomination
shoutouts to SI32 (israel) in particular for being such a similar shape to CEE 7 but not fully compatible and also most sockets in the wild being of extremely poor quality

@novenary the one thing that would improve the NEMA standard immediately is some kind of support mechanism for the plug.

The European standard does this by having the socket slightly or heavily recessed so the weight of the plug is distributed better and therefore locked in place, and the Australian and UK plug does this by having a third pin interlock with the socket to ensure a solid connection

The NEMA standard… Just doesn’t? So the plug can easily fall out especially if it is heavy (like a USB charger)

@yassie_j @novenary tbh I kinda prefer the inline bricks more like what laptops traditionally use instead of the brick having plugs in directly

one day i will make a tier list of AC outlet standards

@yassie_j that's technically a thing already, some NEMA plugs have holes in the flat prongs which can interact with catches in the socket
though apparently it's more for manufacturing purposes?
« The small hole near the end of the power (non-ground) blades of some NEMA plugs is used for convenience in manufacturing; if present, it must be of specified diameter and position.[3] Small specialized padlocks are available to fit these holes, allowing "lockout" of hazardous equipment, by physically preventing insertion of locked plugs into a power receptacle. Since at least 1949, numerous receptacle devices have also been invented to use these holes to hold the prongs inside the receptacle slots, using a corresponding latch or locking mechanism.[4] »

either way, the recess in CEE sockets serves an additional purpose, and exposes another flaw in the NEMA design: it's deep enough that it's impossible to insert objects between the plug and socket when they are connected, all compliant plugs are designed to completely fill the recess for this reason
the only exception to this is the ungrounded "europlug" (CEE 7/16), which has sheathed prongs instead, and a much lower current rating as a result; this is also the approach taken by BS 1363

@mikoto @yassie_j yeah I'm inclined to agree

@novenary @mikoto I never disagree with norm, so I also agree

@benjojo Live testing the wiring

@benjojo cc @mia

@benjojo @gorplop I’ve long disliked the idea of normalising plugging USB plugs into the same fixture as mains power plugs but this proximity is insane.

Gotta give Darwin a chance I guess

@benjojo For once this is one where I'd really want the child-safety thing to be there.