Originally Posted by
SeriouslyLost
It would only maim you if you managed to fall against it and get the prong in your eye. You're more likely to do that with your toothbrush, so there's that one dealt with. Cause a fire? How? Again, yes, American wiring standards are terrible, but the fact is the US insists on using single core wire is more of a fire hazard than a random possibly-maybe-but-probably-not exposed phase wire. Given it should (assuming it was done right the first time) be a neutral then it shouldn't be a problem anyway. Actually, even if done wrong it wouldn't be much of a problem so long as you're not dumb enough to grab it while earthing yourself. Although, granted, if the wiring is stuffed in another part of the room or another room entirely and that plug loops off that circuit rendering the entire circuit live then you're dead anyway, but hey, that just brings us back to the crappy wiring standards thing again.
I'd be interested to understand more about why US wiring standards are terrible. My house hasn't gone up in flames yet and it's had electric service for YEARS.
Originally Posted by
mbstone
Since when are they NEMA connectors? I thought they were called Edison connectors.
From the very same Wikipedia article: "The standard 5–15 (and its 1–15 two prong counterpart) is sometimes called an "Edison plug" in the film and theatre industry, where that name distinguishes it from more specialized theatrical connectors. This presumably refers to Thomas Edison or the various Edison utility companies that supply electric power."