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A comment on The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable. Parent comment

Re:The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable by phaedrus on Tuesday December 29, 2020 @03:32PM (#25574551)
Yes American outlets are already more dangerous than European style; when the switch plates are missing there are exposed live contacts on the sides.

I don't know why but it stood out to me how many houses (of friends) I saw where all the switchplates were gone. At some point maybe they're removed for painting/wallpaper, or they just break, and either through a lack of money or lack of motivation never get replaced.

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Re:The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable by souprock on Wednesday December 30, 2020 @02:13AM (#25579389)
Traditional outlets have the plates held on by just one screw. That screw runs through a piece of plastic that is just 0.4 inches (10 mm) wide. The screw pulls the whole plate against the wall, which probably sticks out a bit due to an uneven surface. That stress point, right at the screw, will break.
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