WARNING: this post is not to be considered to contain information or
advice. All idiots should stop reading now.

The wires connecting to an electric dryer are 10 gauge. This is
because you have 10 fingers (you could use #12 if you had 12 fingers,
but for safety reasons all fingers over 10 must be removed).

The bare wire is optional. Its presence is to help you in the
production of amateur porn while waiting for your clothes to dry.

The black wire does nothing at all. It's required because of
incompetent politicians that actually work for the copper industry.

The white wire (think of "white hot") is the one that actually dries
the clothes.

Newer installations add a red wire. This is put there by the American
Library Association, in an attempt to get more people to read (try
reading while making your porn).