"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in
message ...

[re the BS 1363 plug ]
snip
: must reduce the cross-sectional area, too, though (a) see
earlier
: comments about the ratings being far more than required for
most
: appliances anyway,

But the contact pins are not really over size, remember that
their maximum current rating has to be 30A, not 13A.

:
: Much better is a 230 volt version of the US 3 prong plug, two
round pins
: like the standard EU ungrounded plug, with a slightly longer
ground pin
: in the center and below them like this:
:
: O O
: O
:
: The advantage is that unless you work at it, the ground pin
makes contact
: first.
: []
: I was quite impressed the first time I saw what I think of as
the
: "Dutch" design: a bit like the Schuko, but the earth is
actually a
: socket in the plug, and a pin in the socket! Thus if you try to
plug in
: a plug that doesn't have the socket, it won't go in!

Yes, but just think about some idiot terminating the wires in the
wall plate incorrectly...
--
Regards, Jerry.