3 Pin British Plug: go ahead and yank it
By Laura June 
posted June 18th 2010 12:21PM
posted June 18th 2010 12:21PM
Yanking cords out of sockets is a terrifically satisfying way to take out your aggression on electronics, but it's not very safe. This British-only concept solution seeks to change all that, with some internal fortification and an external ball attachment to show you where to grip. Why not make a ritual out of rebellion?
i don't know what other people see but to me theres a mouse stuck in the socket someone is trying to pull out and somehow created a red ball at its tail
@Zylam Do you drink enough water?
@MoonWalkerCTE
why will it enhance my moonwalk?
@Zylam - lay off the shrooms man...
@Zylam Rorschach wept...
@Brokinarrow
but... but why?
Occasionally I'll try and yank plugs out by the cable anyway. Usually brings the socket with it, but still pretty cool...
America..... What has happened to our innovation....
@zekaje
This actually violates national electric code because permanent fixed wiring is the only type of electrical wiring allowed inside walls.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Electrical_Code_%28US%29
In other words, if there is an electrical fire in your house, don't think about getting any insurance money to rebuild.
@zekaje The Irony is it's pretty impossible to yank normal British Plugs out of the socket by the cable...
@dicobalt What are you talking about? This isn't in the US so the US electric code has nothing to do with it - and this is not in-wall, so even if it were your comment still wouldn't make any sense.
@jonnythan
I was replying to zekaje asking what has happened to innovation in America. I know this isn't in the US, I'm just saying WHY this type of thing is not in the US. BTW that looks like a wall outlet to me, wall outlets are in the wall... The power cord rolls up into the wall, it's flexible non fixed wiring. Not that you can't make it safe. My point is that the insurance companies and code enforcers don't give a shit if it's safe in reality or not.
@dicobalt
That cord doesn't do what you think it does. That's just a standard plug (think to a lamp or something) that has a reinforced cable so you can yank the cable when you want to pull the plug. That is NOT a retractable cable.
@benjybaruch I think that's the point.
I always yank chords out lol.
@Mike Vick
Yup, I pull by the cord not by the plug. Power cords are cheap, downtime is expensive. It's the easiest way to know you're unplugging the right thing.
@UnixSystemsEngineer
fires and shorts are also expensive...
I like the power switches on the outlets. Nice.
@MikeF1974
Do you guys not have power switches on them in america?
@PCG
neither here, in fact it is the first time that i see it
@PCG
Lol nah they don't, that would be too sensible for them. They're also still stuck with pre-WW2 electricity and feeling it pretty bad!
@MikeF1974 what? you don't have switches on your supplies?
omg wow.
@Beamo I don't either. Portugal BTW.
@MikeF1974 I honestly thought everyone had those.
@MikeF1974 except when someone unplugs something and doesn't turn the switch off - that annoys me (probably because i have ocd) (like the plug on the far left in the image)
@Beamo Just what I want. To put my fingers next to a electrical outlet when ever I want to turn something on or off from the switch.
We have something in genius. They are called wall switches. You never have to worry about getting a electrical shock because you miss the switch, and their always in a much more convenient location then a wall outlet.
@Hobsie I thought the switch came in part because of a copper shortage that caused builders to use a ring circuit system, and is still used today in new homes, probably because it's cheaper. Each plug needs a switch and a fuse, since all the plugs in the home are essentially on the same circuit. That's also the reason for the gargantuan plugs configuration.
@PCG
No, but we do have GFIC plugs (ground fault interrupting circuits) that have a black and red button on them. the black button trips the in-socket circuit breaker, and the red button resets it, so functionally it's the same thing. (Although, the buttons are there as a way to test if the GFIC is working, probably not to be used in a constant manner)
@PhaseDMA what? you can't get a shock from putting your fingers near it. Don't be silly.
@PhaseDMA We have something ingenious (that's how you spell it, by the way) called the third pin, which means the socket isn't live unless something is plugged into it - unlike 2 pin systems, where it's permanently live. Therefore, you can plaster your fingers all over the empty socket, with no fear of a shock.
@TimmyRaa so does the US?
anyway why is there any need for switches on the outlets? even if you want a switch, most outlets are in a hard-to-reach location, it's much easier to have a wall switch.
@maveric101 No, the US doesn't have that. The US has a 2-pin system with an optional ground pin.
@MikeF1974 I remember those plugs when I was in the North-East of England. The English fear fire more than they feared the Stucka Bombers from the war. I remember in my dorm in the University of Sunderland that they had the most sensitive fire alarms that could be set off by steam from an iron, or some idiot burning food for the umpteenth time. Also I remember that the plugs have fuses in the plug, either 2, 3, 5 or 13 amp. Odd indeed. Probably the English still have paranoia from the great fire of London.
@lnm4444 I forgot one thing. Those switches. Why are they there? I tried to connect my laptop and it wouldn't work. After one hour of bewilderment someone flicked the switch on the plug and I stood there like an true plonker.
@lnm4444
The great fire of London happened in 1666, a good while before plug sockets, I'm also pretty sure it didn't get as far north as Sunderland.
The switches have to do with the high voltage and ring circuit, look it up.
@MikeF1974
To all those in and not in the know, the US does have a 3-wire system (and yes, the 3rd wire is optional).
There are also outlets available here with switches built into the outlet. It's more common, however, to use a remote wall-mounted switch to turn the socket on/off.
Boo ignorance!
Thats what she said.
There are actually other outlets that we can use in the U.S. but you have to purchase and have them installed/install them yourself. I don't think you'll ever (for the near future anyway) see other plugs than the kind we have right now, which are terrible in a number of ways including safety and convenience.
Is that a sex toy where you insert... nevermind.
Stepping on a UK plug hurts like a mother****er..!
@Philosoma
Bring on those fold flat designs a student was showing off a few months ago, standing on a plug is no joke.
We don't have/need switches on our 120v outlets in the US, but they do in other parts of the world where they use 230/240v. This is because there is a much higher propensity of arcing with the higher voltages, on these systems there is a snap-acting switch that will shut off the power before removing the plug. In the US, the voltage being lower means you can just unplug while power is on, and there really is not going to be any significant arcing. The "yank-able" 240v outlets automatically cut power before the plug loses contact during yanking, thus eliminating arc.
@pEEf
Actually many countries use 240V without any switches on the sockets at all, also on the British system there is no snap-acting switch on sockets.
@tagy So why do the uk have switches
@brilldoctor Good question. I've never seen any switches on standard (grounded) wall plugs in continental Europe.
@brilldoctor probably so you can switch the power on and off instead of unplugging the item.
I think the UK plugs are the most solid I've ever used and possibly the safest BUT a lot of houses in the UK still have the old wire fuses and not circuit breakers which have been standard in many parts of the world for ages.
WTF? Switches on the socket? That is the first time I have ever seen this. We use 240V in Europe and have no switches. And every room usualy its own fuse (or more of them). Also we use the "schuko" sockets that are in my oppinion the best in terms of safety. Because you can't get "zapped" when pluging/unpluging something. Here is how they look like:
http://www.jung-italia.it/page/img/productdetail/pics/cd500_schuko-steckdose.jpg
@roli You've never been to the UK, have you? Pretty much ALL of our wall sockets have switches. Careful with your generalisations about 'Europe'.
@roli
EU plugs are so flimsy. NEMA FTW!
UK's are bulky as hell but a designer created a great foldable concept that could make it one of the best plug solutions of all.
http://www.minkyu.co.uk/Site/Product/Entries/2009/4/20_Folding_Plug_System.html