Comments on: Hack Your Mac Laptop Power Cord

By: Billdakelski

Billdakelski — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:11:24 +0000

New houses are not any better the hazards are just different, out-gassing of synthetic materials and composite wood products, (people have actually had serious reactions to plastic shower curtains), and new houses are loaded with cheap and untested materials. Radon is still a major problem, new products that have lead ie. window blinds etc.(especially from China).

Where I live, there is no code that requires people to replace old outlets, unless they are being changed anyway. Most people just use an adapter that disconnects the ground prong, and disregards the polarity. May not be very safe, but common none-the-less.

By: huh? more like normal outlets =)

huh? more like normal outlets =) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:51:58 +0000

I've been in the US my whole life. Our outlets have three prongs. Devices like a cell phone charger that do not need a ground, have two pronged plugs and the ground part of the plug in the outlet goes unused. Devices which use a lot of power (and thus require a ground), like appliances or computers, have a ground and must not be modified or you risk fire. If for some reason you are in a house in the US that is over I think probably around 80 years old (maybe 60 years old), then you might encounter the old outlets that do not have a ground. In this case, it is NOT safe to EVER attempt to force a plug which has the third ground prong, into a two-prong outlet. If you bought the old house, then you must get a professional to run ground wires through the house and replace all the outlets. This can be pricy and I recommend to buy a newer house instead, because your really old house with two-prong outlets probably also has lead paint in the walls (causes cancer), no central AC (air conditioning) or central heat, and it probably is lined with asbestos in the walls and floor tiles and such. Asbestos causes cancer - Mesothelioma, which is an incurable cancer that wraps itself around lung lining. It can take 20 to 30 years to appear, and then you die within 18 months. There are various other dangers of buying an old house; I suggest you buy a newer one.

Overall, our electrical outlets (except in very old and usually abandoned buildings) are quite normal and modern.

By: Sarah Stokely

Sarah Stokely — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:26:39 +0000

I grew up in the US, but I don’t really remember their power outlets, so the Australian ones seem normal to me now. :)

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:55:58 +0000

I was in America for the first time last year, and your power outlets are downright weird :) No switches or grounds?

On the other hand, I met an American visiting Australia this year and he thought the same thing about ours "whats with all the on/off switches on the wall?"