"Martin Angove" wrote in message
...


And why do we need the darned things anyway? Most 3-pin sockets [1] have
a very good "gate" arrangement which requires an earth pin-sized object
to be inserted into the earth socket before pins enter the L&N sockets.
A wedge-lever in the earth socket then lowers gates on the L&N sockets.
To do this manually requires a very high degree of manual dexterity and
a tool or two.


When I was about 10 I managed to short out the electrical supply for half my
school using only two pairs of scissors. I inserted one into the earth hole
to raise the gate, another pair into one of the L&N holes, pulled the first
pair out and inserted it into the other L&N hole. The two pairs of scissors
weren't touching each other, but when I switched the socket on, **BANG**!!
Half the school blacked out. I didn't get any form of shock somehow until I
got home and was faced with my dad who was none too impressed.

--
/Slugsie