- Michael Daly -
Or plug two 12A items into it and run them simultaneously. I can
do that easily with power tools.

- Nehmo -
Then maybe the breaker will trip.

Codes require a rated outlet to have a circuit (breaker, wires, etc.)
big enough to accommodate it. A higher rated circuit can have a lower
rated outlet on it. Lots of 20 A circuits have 15 A outlets on them.
And that doesn't mean you should load every outlet to the max. Since a
single branch circuit can have several outlets, you can overload almost
any breaker without overloading its outlets.

This site discusses some of the issues:
http://www.codecheck.com/numberoutlets.htm
--
*********************
* Nehmo Sergheyev *
*********************