Holey Plugs, Batman! But... what are they for?

Maybe some day I'll talk about the fact that all these outlets are technically upside down.

My son discovered a great use for the holes. You can insert a small paper clip through both holes at the same time so when dad unwittingly plugs it onto the wall, it emits a bright blue/white flash and scorches the plug, wall plate and wall as well as tripping the circuit breaker all with an incredible but brief sound.

"I suppose mayonnaise is an off-white jam..." Sir, I'm going to have to ask you cease this train of thought *immediately*.

"I suppose mayonnaise is an off-white jam" is one of the most upsetting sentences I've heard in a while.

Those holes are very useful in the construction trade for me. Not only can you lock out a plug, but we own Pro-Lock extension cords which seem to utilize these holes to lock whatever you've plugged into them in place.

Back in the 80s when I was a child, my parents would put a tiny padlock (like the ones used on luggage zippers) through the holes in my TV's power cord as punishment. So I always thought the holes were to prevent unauthorized use of appliances.

"through the magic of buying multiple" will never get old I swear

“Oh well, at least it’s not 240v coming out of there” 😂😂😂😂😂

I worked at a plant where they put plastic ties through the holes on malfunctioning or under maintenance piece of equipment. Usually with a tag with a initial, date and reason, so the equipment couldn’t accidentally be plugged in.

The hole is for the tiny padlock to prevent someone's PlayStation from being plugged in :D

Fun fact: there are extension cords that utilize those holes and will lock with a button on top. They're great with hand tools to avoid accidental unplugging while working

Fun fact, if you have one of those tiny novelty padlocks for a girls' diary, you can lock it through the hole, preventing it from being plugged in.

I definitely love all the information you give and the science you do but god damn, your sense of humor is next level and your deadpan delivery is impeccable!

"Dude, no way I'm watching a 20 minute video on the holes in power plugs." ~20 minutes later. "He got me again!"

I love the phrase “by the magic of buying several of them…” gets a smile from me every time 😆

In Australia our plugs and receptacles have angled live pins, so they are always polarised correctly since they cannot be plugged in upside down (even if no grounding pin is present) 🙂

I have lived in a few rental properties with what I always called “butter plugs” most of them were quite old and probably had dozens of people living there over the decades. And well, as you noted in the end, probably just wear on the sockets. Never to the point where they would fall out without help but they usually weren’t hanging on very well. The US has so much cheap crap nowadays. I had a unit where one of the light switches was sparking when I tried to turn it on and off. One unit the fuse box was sparking randomly. Apartments use all the cheapest things in them. It’s genuinely terrifying to think about.

Very intersting. I've actually wondered this exact thing before. I tend to agree with your hypothesis that it is a cultural thing, like when Motorola put a fake antenna on their flip phone because they said it didn't look right without it.

I actually have an extension cord with a tiny lever which, when turned, pushes a pin through the holes, so whatever is plugged into the cord can't come unplugged. Very handy for electric lawnmowers!

The lack of outlits holding onto plugs is definately a huge feature of my childhood home. It's also common on some of my power strips that are less than 5 years old.