Tool idea

How about a machine to make power cords more flexible by removing the insulation? If it were unsafe, I'm sure the instructions that came with my floor lamp would have said so.

Before they had polarized plugs, didn't you ever get a shock from a lamp?

Use a good brand (Trim brand) flat nose toe nail trimmers. Snip, snip.

Back when I was traveling to trade shows every week, I did just that. I removed the outer rubber tube from the all the computer's power cords. The resulting wire coiled up into a neat little, tiny really, bundle.

Um, no.

Another solution without a problem.

It would be hard for a designer to make sure that the threaded part of a lamp socket would never touch the shell. One might also touch it while changing a bulb. If that side of the cord were hot, it would be hot whether or not the switch was on.

It used to be that the chassis of a TV was a shock hazard if plugged in with the wrong polarity.

Why would you want to defeat a safety function? It took a while for UL to get that requirement, but it has saved many lives over the past

I wonder what the authorities will have to say about this product. Think UL will approve it?

I have one, its called a File

Safety IS the issue. You need to keep the neutral side on the outlet connected to the neutral side of the appliance.

It IS a problem on old outlets with both narrow blade slots and some extension cords with the same. That's why they sell those little gray adapters to defeat wide blade plugs and three prong plugs.

That is not the sound of rain you are hearing it is thousands of lawyers drooling.

How many is "many"?

Let's say each person plugs in one thing a day and 1/3 of the time that person has to do it over or check beforehand, thereby wasting one second of time.

According to the CPSC, about 400 people are electrocuted each year. Some of these deaths are due to coming in contact with overhead lines, and the like, so assume 300 are due to defective consumer equipment or equipment used improperly. Now suppose that number doubles as a result of non-polarized plugs. The value of each life saved then works out to (mumble-mumble, carry the three...) about $700,000.

Somewhere there's a trade-off point.

Slightly off topic. I don't buy this business of something 'costing' x dollars in time lost or misused time etc. Sure if something is blatant and frequent it may have a cost. e.g. A Fire Dept. finds that half the calls are False Alarms. There could be real cost in extra time, danger of being tied up, falsely, when a 'real' alarm occurs etc. But if some searchers take three hours looking for someone who turns out to be not lost after all there was no requirement to go out and hire more searchers. A wife doesn't go and get another one fiftieth of husband because he is 2% slow taking out the garbage. Or a family does not hire another tenth of a baby sitter if that sitter is half an hour late for a five hour baby sitting job. We don't elect another fifth of representative or senator if our present one spends 20% of their time 'goofing off' or on vacation!

It only takes a second with a pair of dikes.

Jon

That's how I do it.

We had an old (even then) electric metal fan when I was a kid (circa 1968).

It was a real challange to turn the thing on and off cause there was a random chance of a zap! I really hated that fan.

Back then I had no idea it had to do with the direction the plug was in the outlet - that would have been some very useful information.

"HeyBub" wrote in news:p7idnWguHes9N_TWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

Devil's advocate here...double insulation (not using the case/frame of appliance as ground) effectively renders polarized plugs unnecessary - except in the case of an internal fault, of course.

But them, it seems like a very simple, cost-effective safety feature, so why not.

Every year since inception, The Darwin Awards have had awards to give out.

On Wed, 3 Feb 2010 10:55:56 -0600, "HeyBub" wrote Re Re: Tool idea:

In the U.S.:

$1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.00

We consider a human live very valuable.