Date   : Wed, 15 Dec 1999 18:30:44 +0000
From   : Mike Tomlinson <mike@...>
Subject: Re: B-Master compatibility issues

In article <991215155110@...>, Jonathan Graham Harston
<jgh@...> writes
> 
>God, merkian domestic electrical wiring is appalling.  No such thing as a
>ring main, every socket is a spur from the distribution board 

I referred to a 'ring main' on sci.electronics.repair once and had lots
of emails from confused Merkins wanting to know what it was.  They were
even more confused once I tried to explain.

American electrics, particularly the unshuttered sockets, and the live
portions of the prongs accessible with the plug shoved halfway into the
socket, scare me silly.  Something else that scares me is the adapters
which can be screwed into light fittings to allow plugs to be inserted;
shades of the 40's/50's UK practice of plugging an unearthed electric
iron into a light socket.

If I ever were to live in the US, I'd insist my house were wired to UK
regulations using UK components and screw the local code.

-- 
Mike Tomlinson