Mildly Interesting

I knew it would be before I clicked. Alec is great!

I’m curious why he doesn’t talk about all the patents that specify locking as a feature. Even modern patents reference the features of older ones in their designs if they use them.

He used all modern plugs you would find on houses in 2000+, of course none of them lock the old way. Go grab some from the 20s and 30s.

Is a brass coating not, technically, a flat brass piece pressed against another?

I've used electric kettles in the US and Europe and they're barely slower. I think the difference is overstated. It's often used as the reason that fewer Americans have kettles but I think the real reason is just that Americans drink fewer hot beverages other than coffee, and most people have a machine for that.

While 120v is safer for shocks I think the greater safety reason for 240 is lower fire risk which is more common and dangerous that shocks in either system.

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Also the french system is compatible with Schuko, so that makes it even more universal.

I think "US doesn't use the metric system" is really overblown. Sure some common things like miles and weights and cooking that people use every day are still done with standard units. But you could say that about many other countries that are "officially" on the metric system. You can't really force people to stop using units they're familiar with. Any product I can think of in America is required to have both metric and standard units labeling it. Technical fields like science and medicine don't touch standard units, would be ridiculous. All metric. If you tell your doctor your weight in lbs it's instantly converted to kg and that's what's used in the system (dosing is done in mg per kg bodyweight often). Every kid in America learns how to use the metric system in school. Construction is probably the big place where it still gets iffy, but even then you can easily get metric or standard bits and things like that. Like what do people want to say we've "converted?" Slap all the current cooking/measuring cups out of people's hands that say both mls and cups, saying no how dare you use cups to measure out the water for your recipe, here have a measuring cup with only mL labeled instead, you're welcome.

Also ripping out and replacing the entire electrical system of every building in the United States, and scrapping every 120v electrical appliance in the entire country, seems like it would be horrifically expensive and wasteful for some very minor benefits. Maybe a switch could have been made early on in the development of the electrical system, but that ship has sailed. And you can wire up outlets in America for 240v plugs too, the breakers let you do both. So if you need more current for your clothes drier or another large appliance for instance it can be done.

While the US system gets called 110/220, my house actually puts out ~242v. Right now I have a smart plug saying 121.5v.

And since you mentioned the word "plugs", here are our 220 15a and 20a outlets.

I have, but I was a child and very much not plugging it in the right way. It was in a very cramped space I couldn't see, and dumbass me thought holding the metal would give me better control. It did, I made it into the plug.

I'm used to this kind of guy

I think this fact is actually a myth, the holes are for manufacturing as stated previously.

Technology connections got it wrong. The oldest receptacle he used was from the 2000s. He also didn’t do any research. Modern manufactures keep doing it for the all the old receptacles out there. It’s why the hole size IS specified by NEMA if you are going to include them.

Theres plenty of patents that specify the locking function, and even some modern patents refer to those old locking features with their features.

I was bored enough to look up the link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udNXMAflbU8