On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 18:39:10 -0600, wrote:

I was probably around 14 years old when I got an old shortwave radio
which was probably made in the 40s.

There were plenty of "hot chassis" electronics made before the
transistors started showing up. I had a tv that would light you up if
a knob fell off and you touched the shaft. After a while I figured out
I should flip the plug. They may have had NEMA 1-15 receptacles but
the plugs were not.