Talk:3186: Truly Universal Outlet

No comments yet, add the first comment! Caliban (talk) 16:25, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I checked on the info.0.json and there doesn't seem to be a transcript for this one. I don't know whether that's normal, since I understand that most comics have one, but I wrote in a basic transcript. I might have just not looked in the right place. R128 (talk) 16:58, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I try not to be nationalistic or jingoistic about anything, but I'm sorry—British plugs are simply the best plugs. Strong, easy to use and safe—fits snugly into the socket, can't expose live or neutral outlets without first connecting to earth, no overly sharp pins. I don't like myself for saying this, but I honestly think the rest of the world would be better off switching to our plugs.109.149.114.159 18:00, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I'm American, and British plugs and sockets seem huge and clunky to me. I've also heard that (some?) Brits think US plugs are alarmingly flimsy. I'm sure that a big part of the differences of opinion is what we grew up with, and I'd love to hear a physics/engineering/UI/UX-based evaluation of which one is *actually* better. -- Dtgriscom (talk) 19:38, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I am an American (soon to be a Gileadian after we will rename our nation to the Republic of Gilead —— ¡ChrisoFascism sucks!); so now I do not have a dog in this fight, but the | EuroPlug looks very space efficient, unlike the bulky American plus & sockets, & the ridiculously enormous UK-plugs.

I am also an American and I agree with the sentiment that British plugs/sockets seem huge and clunky, but it depends on the plug and socket in the US how flimsy they are. I have found some sockets where plugs will literally fall out of them, and other ones where it is hard to pull them out. But American plugs are dangerous from the lack of protection against contacting power and neutral at the same time while they're live.

I've heard this sentiment before, but I have no idea where it comes from. British plugs are ridonkulously huge and not exactly easy to use. From safety perspective, I find it odd only a handful of (European) socket types are recessed. 81.94.52.186 22:07, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

British plugs are just the right size for a hand (assuming you don't have very small hands, when you probably shouldn't be messing about with them) and the direction the cable emerges is much more convenient (e.g. handy for sockets behind furniture, outlets for worktop equipment in a kitchen or in server racks). At least that's my assesment, having had to use both US and UK systems in all cases. ;) 92.23.2.208 22:47, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

British plugs do not even meet their own design specs. This is why there is an internally different, but externally identical (apart from markings) BS 1363-2 plug for EV charging. This exists because if you draw the continuous rated current from a standard socket it is likely to melt.

British wiring has many problematic aspects. Ring final circuits, undersized wiring for the protective fuse, too many devices on the same circuit, too few outlets so people stack extenders for the one socket in the room and run extensions cords under the rug, excessively tolerant ground fault detectors. Most of the supposed safety features of British plugs are trying to compensate for other design flaws. Not to mention mechanically identical sockets with different continuous current ratings.76.180.39.133 23:20, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

Someone will probably address this, but voltage issues aside, I would guess that the USAGE of the various pins across countries is likely different in catastrophic ways. E.g. I imagine that one glob of pins is hot/live in one country but ground/earth in others so that plugging an appliance from different countries into the universal outlet would cause shocks, breaker trips, explosions, etc. I did laugh at the title text - yes, I'm sure building inspectors are constantly encountering this mess. ;) 47.248.235.170 18:39, 26 December 2025 (UTC)Pat

Nope. The ground pin is always intentionally made special in all mains plugs existing, and it's basic potty training for electricians to never, ever trust the two others. --88.65.244.212 20:24, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

Universal/travel plug adaptors do kind of look like this. Not quite as universal though. 220.244.124.170 19:50, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DAIOqOxI0K_I --88.65.244.212 20:24, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

Some come surprisingly close: https://tessan.com/products/65w-gan-universal-travel-adapter-wta09 https://canyon.eu/product/cns-ta1005w/ https://aluratek.com/products/universal-20w-travel-adapter (not an endorsement - I expect most if not all of these are dangerous) 2600:4041:351:4800:D040:FA1F:BB70:CDED 01:26, 27 December 2025 (UTC)

Just for my own amuesment, I tried to work out what bits were which, green for the pins, red for 'the aditional bits the pins would rattle around in' (the rest left black). Really not sure I got all the "D E M O" bits right. E, in particular, looks like it has a reverse pin that goes into the plug, but I'm also not as familiar with the old D+M different ampages/sizes (I'll only ever see them in stage-lighting, and I don't plug 'em in or out) as I am with the type-G I normally use. ...but, if anyone wants it, it'll be downloadable for the next seven days. Tidy it up, correct it as necessary, change the timings (currently 1 second a frame), recolour it (perhaps use different colours for Live, Neutral and (where there is one) Earth), whatever you want. If it's useful. And if that's done by anyone who can upload to this site (or someone does a better version off their own back). 92.23.2.208 21:03, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

FWIW, it is notable that this plug is officially not a cursed connector. --2001:A62:572:F601:905B:6D6D:6686:E863 00:14, 27 December 2025 (UTC)

These already exist outside of this comic: https://diyhardware.ph/cdn/shop/files/YAE0838_800x.webp?v=1686379936 2605:C740:90:F41:842D:1EC2:FEB9:2B80 04:16, 27 December 2025 (UTC)

You can also find them on airplanes.

You can also buy them for traveling.

(That travel plug also has "universal" prongs for plugging in to various different outlets, selected by those sliders on the side.)

—Scs (talk) 06:00, 27 December 2025 (UTC)