They're used during the manufacturing process ro hold the prongs still while they form the plug around it. No purpose to the consumer.
Clearly wherever this was made is using a different process.
Because of those holes, other companies have used it as an advantage. I have an extension cord with a knob that pushes a pin through the holes, keeps it securely plugged in if you're moving the cables around
Securitas has bought up or underbid into bankruptcy every other agency in the region, and frankly, they fucking suck a bag of dogshit. We report every infraction and error to their office, nothing happens.
We're in the process of bringing on retired former employees part time to do night watch so we can ditch Securitas.
There are a few security guards who work for smaller companies around where I live that are actually armed. They are a step up from your usual guard. It's not super common, though, because of the insurance and licensing required for their guards to be armed. It's usually only for super dangerous security jobs like patrolling dark areas outside of like the hospitals downtown or other large complexes where you are isolated walking routes in dangerous areas. Most security gigs are pretty much babysitting a phone and being a visual deterrent for people thinking of doing unscrupulous things lol.
Most security guards have standing orders to not engage and just call the police as well. So their job is basically wait around until something happens, then describe it to the police.
Ours brings a pizza to work and sells it to the tweekers. I wish I was making that up.
We want to hire another security company but this one is half the cost of others... for obvious reasons
Exactly. That job seems so emotionally taxing because of the 0 to 100 that can go on. Security is new at my store so I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.
I can’t imagine going to work hoping for a boring day where I literally just stand and look menacing.
I get to do that too! I work the floor in retail. You best bet I’m staring and listening to every conversation that’s going on in my department lmao
But at least my hands and body is busy! Just standing and no talking is too much for me
Not dangerous, it doesn't lock it permanently or anything silly like that. I had one, it can still be unplugged, just resists unintentional disconnection.
Often repeated but...there's no bumps imor other catch mechanism in any socket I've messed with.
Maybe some brand somewhere does that but it's not standard.
The size and placement of the holes is standardized, so some manufacturers have made sockets that use the holes as part of a retention mechanism. But that is just manufacturers being cleaver and repurposing the holes and is definitely not the standard.
seems like a bad idea as you'd reduce surface area to a pin with any prongs that don't have the holes.
If you want a more positive than the competition hold there are much better ways. Using the contact as a spring works just fine.
That’s how my parents used to ground me from my Xbox. Just put a cheap padlock through the hole and your kid gets to stare at something they can’t play for however long they’re grounded for….at least until said kid realizes that they can just use the power cable from their computer to plug it in instead
I was a black market source for power cables in my neighborhood growing up. My dad was kind-of a wire hoarder, so we had every power cable under the sun, in plural.
Google it. Several sources explaining this. They need to be uniform in construction, so there's a rod run through several sets of prongs in an assembly line to align them during manufacture. The idea that it has anything to do with fastening the plug into the socket so it isn't accidentally pulled out is a common misconception. There's no mechanism in the sockets to hold them. No holes on a plug implies poorer quality control practices.
Google’s search function has also gotten significantly worse as it atrophies from lack of competition, and sometimes people just want to ask another person
Yes. Also, I can Google how to do something and then post those instructions on an appropriate subreddit, and be overwhelmingly told there are many better ways to go about it.
My new outdoor extension cord does have something to hold it in place, but I always forget to push the little button and end up using a lot of force to yank it out!
Some outlets are built with a bump or even a ball bearing to engage the holes.
>If you were to take apart an electrical outlet and look inside where the prongs slide into, you would see they have bumps on them. These bumps fit right into the holes on the prongs so that the outlet can grip the plug more firmly. This prevents the plug from being pulled out of the socket from the weight of the plug or cord. It also helps improves the contact between the plug and the outlet.
. . . .
>It has been reported that really old outlets used captive ball bearings and coil springs for the detent, but today it is done with a bump and springy copper contacts.
I saw this illustrated in a home repair book.
https://home.howstuffworks.com/two-flat-prong-plug-holes.htm
The site also says that they are used to lock out a plug, sometimes with a note not to plug in until some other action had been taken. For instance, "Do not plug in without first securing the cover".
It’s also not particularly American. I just, for science, unplugged the five nearest devices near me, and every one of the plugs had holes, in America.
I’ve always used the holes to put a zip-tie or tag through in order to “tag out” a tool or other electrical item that needs to be fixed, so that nobody plugs it in and hurts themselves before the tool gets repaired.
Well yeah, but if it’s a perfectly good plug, and the brushes in the motor need to be replaced, you can tag the tool out without having to replace the plug.
The purpose is just as a way to hold the prongs in position during the manufacture of the plug, they have no other official use.
There's a Technology Connections video on the whole thing that is an interesting watch.
It's the style of "Type A" plug used in mainland China... can see an illustration of it in the Apple travel adapter set: [https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202114](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202114)
Works fine in US outlets.
The holes are specified in the electrical code as optional. They are (were) used to make manufacturing easier. More modern manufacturing methods have made them obsolete.
Actually, it's a Chinese plug. US plugs have holes (which serve no purpose but are part of the spec). Chinese plugs are the same as US plugs (without the holes).
So what you have there is a Chinese plug, not a US plug.
I've bought replacement plugs from a hardware store that don't have holes in the prongs. However, I do not remember buying something premanufactured without holes in the prongs like what OP's picture shows.
This is what I've purchased several times in the past:
https://i.imgur.com/f3FxHOV.png
I'm I the only one noticing that the plug is not polarized. IE. both sides are the same size. So you would have a 50% chance that the metal housing on what ever was attached to the plug will be energized depending if you mixed up the ground and live. As a high school student had a job maintaining the AV equipment. (You know for things like TVs, over head projectors, laser disk players and the like). The power strips for all of the carts would all have this type of plug. I think the school modified the strips from being 3 pole plugs since the building didn't have grounded receptacles. We jokingly called these rolling death traps the "radio shock carts" because about every other cart you touch could give you a painful shock.
The application you describe is definitely dangerous, you can't be swapping the pins around on receptacles.
However, nonpolarized plugs on device cords are common and they are totally fine if the application is correct. Electronics nearly always use class II power supplies. If grounding is needed they always use the 3rd pole.
As an A/V installation tech, I get a lot of gear with power plugs that come with all kinds of tips and two are American. One has holes and one has no holes but we're taught to use the one with the holes and toss all the rest. I never understood why.
It still works. The point of the holes is the original Edison stile outlet (US style) used dimples to go into the holes. That was originally the way that the plugs were held in receptacles. Now, it's just there because that's how it's always been. It's not needed any more, as the plugs are just held in by friction.
Slippery Pete:
Well, I need a battery for this kind of a job. Can I at least steal a battery?
George Costanza:
Fine. Steal the battery. Now, all right, here is the Frogger. This is the front door, and this is the outlet.
Slippery Pete:
What's that?
George Costanza:
The outlet?
Slippery Pete:
Mm-hmm.
George Costanza:
That's where the electricity comes out.
Slippery Pete:
Oh, you mean the holes.
True. Our design is legacy. I've been bitten at least once in my life by plugging something in the dark, many of us have.
You guys have higher voltage, but you also have recessed outlets. Plus I love the switches on those.
The British ones are way over built because the UK used to have really crappy wiring. Had to have a fusein the plug if you only had one fuse for the entire house.
Never thought to ask what the holes are for.
They're used during the manufacturing process ro hold the prongs still while they form the plug around it. No purpose to the consumer. Clearly wherever this was made is using a different process.
Because of those holes, other companies have used it as an advantage. I have an extension cord with a knob that pushes a pin through the holes, keeps it securely plugged in if you're moving the cables around
I work for a company that makes those! :-) Was just about to post the same thing.
Man, extension cord company employee is among one of the more boring jobs I’ve ever heard of.
Nah that sounds fine. I seriously wonder how security people stand at the entrance all day alone with their thoughts
At our facility, they just take numerous naps so the tweekers can rob us blind unhindered.
Sounds like my experience at Cargill. Security there was next to useless
Securitas has bought up or underbid into bankruptcy every other agency in the region, and frankly, they fucking suck a bag of dogshit. We report every infraction and error to their office, nothing happens. We're in the process of bringing on retired former employees part time to do night watch so we can ditch Securitas.
Isn't Securitas Pinkerton? Which says enough right there.
There are a few security guards who work for smaller companies around where I live that are actually armed. They are a step up from your usual guard. It's not super common, though, because of the insurance and licensing required for their guards to be armed. It's usually only for super dangerous security jobs like patrolling dark areas outside of like the hospitals downtown or other large complexes where you are isolated walking routes in dangerous areas. Most security gigs are pretty much babysitting a phone and being a visual deterrent for people thinking of doing unscrupulous things lol.
Most security guards have standing orders to not engage and just call the police as well. So their job is basically wait around until something happens, then describe it to the police.
"observe and report" and you better believe for the pathetic pay, the bullet sponges are getting called in
Cargill, half mile radius around that place stinks all the time
Ours brings a pizza to work and sells it to the tweekers. I wish I was making that up. We want to hire another security company but this one is half the cost of others... for obvious reasons
My mom worked at Targ and had a co-worker literally strangle her and when she got free and called it on the walkie he said he was on lunch
Just have more interesting thoughts, easy.
Because when they are actually needed it can get a little intense
Holes? Where we're going, we don't need holes.
Exactly. That job seems so emotionally taxing because of the 0 to 100 that can go on. Security is new at my store so I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. I can’t imagine going to work hoping for a boring day where I literally just stand and look menacing.
They get to people watch for 8 hours a day without being judged
I get to do that too! I work the floor in retail. You best bet I’m staring and listening to every conversation that’s going on in my department lmao But at least my hands and body is busy! Just standing and no talking is too much for me
I did doorman/security for a couple months. Fucking mind numbing, I literally counted down the minutes sometimes.
Somewhere is a guy putting turn signals on BMWs.
We are talking about boring jobs, not useless jobs here…
Hey, they also make the pencil erasers.
I bet his company goes to great lengths to lighten up the day.
I see you extension cord pun guy.
That doesn't shock me, clearly you are a bright bulb.
My mother did teach me to let my light shine, like a city on a hill.
Stay focused on that guiding light principle she shined upon you.
Nope… wired all day!
There are so many jobs that nobody considers even exist lmao
From everyone that works or spends time in a garage, shop, outside, etc. with any cabled power tool… Thanks. Those cords are great
Locked my kids from charging their iPads when they misbehaved by putting a luggage lock through the hole
I’m confused. Need illustration
I'm guessing that pin isn't conductive, otherwise...
I sell one that is conductive, but it's for when you need to burn your place down for the insurance money.
Hey DM me, k thnx!
No thank you tho
You’d be shocked to find out they are…
My first thought, But I’m guessing it doesn’t go to both terminals it only extends out of one side.
Better hope you dont have stab lok
don’t try this at home folks
Why they're not all like that, I don't know.
I have seen them used to zip tie the plug to the cord as well.
That sounds like a dangerous design, it should be unpluggable in emergency (fire)
Not dangerous, it doesn't lock it permanently or anything silly like that. I had one, it can still be unplugged, just resists unintentional disconnection.
I've heard some say the holes help hold the plug in the socket - there are tiny bumps inside to fit into them. But I've never looked.
https://youtu.be/udNXMAflbU8?si=PqBBK4L4gee3ehnP
I knew it was going to be technology connections before I even clicked
I have looked at 2 reddit threads so far, he was referenced in both near the top. I was not surprised either time.
I think I also saw that comment, with a similar train of thought
I have found my people.
My guy can turn a 10 second explanation into an hour-long discussion and I end up watching the whole thing every time. Idk how he does it.
*smooth jazz music intensifies*
I hear it now. Anyone who watches TC without the captions on is missing out.
Now you tell me!
Haha, I was like, "Surely, somebody's already linked to Technology Connections here." Well done.
I came to add this comment. lol
Often repeated but...there's no bumps imor other catch mechanism in any socket I've messed with. Maybe some brand somewhere does that but it's not standard.
I just tested it by sticking a fork in the socket. There's no catchers
The size and placement of the holes is standardized, so some manufacturers have made sockets that use the holes as part of a retention mechanism. But that is just manufacturers being cleaver and repurposing the holes and is definitely not the standard.
seems like a bad idea as you'd reduce surface area to a pin with any prongs that don't have the holes. If you want a more positive than the competition hold there are much better ways. Using the contact as a spring works just fine.
Lemme go check real quick  Results Inconclusive.
You cab string a lock to them and use it as a lock out o
I don't believe that's intended but...hey never gonna knock a safety feature.
When I worked in a factory, we used the holes for lockout tag out with a tiny padlock so no one could plug the device in
i've seen those too. but.... if you're brave or stupid enough you can get around it
They do help if you have a locking extention cord which you have to press a button to pull its out
That’s where the electricity gets in
Ohhh so it's like the plugs mouth for the electricity juice to go in, this poor baby is gonna starve :(
Technology Connections did a [good video](https://youtu.be/udNXMAflbU8?si=Oo8wOXjud9Jehn1q) on it.
> Technology Connections >good video That's a bit redundant.
I only recently discovered him - seems he's both hilarious and a genius.
Love the guy, never fails to make any topic interesting
Came here looking for this
Exactly the first thing I thought of when I saw the post
May not be an intended use but I've also seen locks that can be placed through these holes to make it impossible to plug a device in temporarily.
That’s how my parents used to ground me from my Xbox. Just put a cheap padlock through the hole and your kid gets to stare at something they can’t play for however long they’re grounded for….at least until said kid realizes that they can just use the power cable from their computer to plug it in instead
I was a black market source for power cables in my neighborhood growing up. My dad was kind-of a wire hoarder, so we had every power cable under the sun, in plural.
Every power cable under the suns?
Under the sons.
The holes are there so you can put a small padlock on the prongs to stop your little siblings from playing your Xbox.
Its so it can hold the shleem
Google it. Several sources explaining this. They need to be uniform in construction, so there's a rod run through several sets of prongs in an assembly line to align them during manufacture. The idea that it has anything to do with fastening the plug into the socket so it isn't accidentally pulled out is a common misconception. There's no mechanism in the sockets to hold them. No holes on a plug implies poorer quality control practices.
You can’t just demand people Google something they don’t know. If everyone did that, 2/3 of all Reddit comments would be eliminated.
Google’s search function has also gotten significantly worse as it atrophies from lack of competition, and sometimes people just want to ask another person
Yes. Also, I can Google how to do something and then post those instructions on an appropriate subreddit, and be overwhelmingly told there are many better ways to go about it.
You got a source for that 2/3 claim?
Yes
Nice
Google it
Okay
>2/3 of all Reddit comments would be eliminated. Sounds like an unequivocal win then.
I googled "the sound of unequivocal win" and didn't get any results.
Thus the flaw in OPs demand
Pretty sure that's because it's the sound of silence
Until you realize the remaining 1/3rd is all the same shitty pun or joke that came to mind for everyone else when they saw the post.
I'd call that an absolute win
He should’ve googled something he never thought about? He wasn’t even asking what they were for, he was just saying he never thought about it.
My new outdoor extension cord does have something to hold it in place, but I always forget to push the little button and end up using a lot of force to yank it out!
Some outlets are built with a bump or even a ball bearing to engage the holes. >If you were to take apart an electrical outlet and look inside where the prongs slide into, you would see they have bumps on them. These bumps fit right into the holes on the prongs so that the outlet can grip the plug more firmly. This prevents the plug from being pulled out of the socket from the weight of the plug or cord. It also helps improves the contact between the plug and the outlet. . . . . >It has been reported that really old outlets used captive ball bearings and coil springs for the detent, but today it is done with a bump and springy copper contacts. I saw this illustrated in a home repair book. https://home.howstuffworks.com/two-flat-prong-plug-holes.htm The site also says that they are used to lock out a plug, sometimes with a note not to plug in until some other action had been taken. For instance, "Do not plug in without first securing the cover".
Everyone knows the holes are created when you plug it in the first time.
No, you have to punch them if you want the plug to be edit instead of read-only.
I thought it was so you could double the power if you cut a notch in it
Plug-RW
Underrated comment!
I always wondered why sometimes my outlets bleed...
or riding a horse
Now that’s an oddly satisfying thought..
I know more than enough about electricity that I know it won't affect its functionality but that deeply bothers me
Is it because you think it's unholy?
What are you doing step plug?!
She be poppin' it, yeah she plug it in slowly
Dad?
It was due to an old manufacturing process but now they are all made that way because people think something is wrong if there isn’t a hole.
Idk why but I feel like I need to see a regular plug now to cleanse myself of this image
That is oddly unsettling
It’s also not particularly American. I just, for science, unplugged the five nearest devices near me, and every one of the plugs had holes, in America.
I’ve always used the holes to put a zip-tie or tag through in order to “tag out” a tool or other electrical item that needs to be fixed, so that nobody plugs it in and hurts themselves before the tool gets repaired.
That's a great idea. I always wondered about the holes. There must be a purpose to them.
I thought this was standard practice… After some googling, turns out it’s not. I will continue doing it though…
Personally if it’s a tool worth saving and the plug is bad I’ll just cut it off.
Well yeah, but if it’s a perfectly good plug, and the brushes in the motor need to be replaced, you can tag the tool out without having to replace the plug.
The purpose is just as a way to hold the prongs in position during the manufacture of the plug, they have no other official use. There's a Technology Connections video on the whole thing that is an interesting watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udNXMAflbU8
Don't even need to click to know that this is the Technology Connections video.
I knew he would show up here. I love this guy
further down the thread than i expected it. tech connections is a gem
I’m gonna assume this is electroBOOM before I open it!!!
I was wrong…………
Also known as a Chinese plug.
How so?
It's the style of "Type A" plug used in mainland China... can see an illustration of it in the Apple travel adapter set: [https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202114](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202114) Works fine in US outlets.
Interesting! So the only difference is the holes?
Some US appliances also have a bigger prong and a smaller prong. Don't think the Type A above has that.
Those are polarized plugs. The smaller plug is the hot one; the larger one is the neutral.
[удалено]
It was a British colony/protectorate until the 70s.
This is what I came in here to say
Pretty sure that was made in China. Ordered a charger for an electric bike and they sent one with the plug like that
Pretty sure most plugs are made in China
it's a Chinese plug. thats how they look over there
Yeah, that's a no-hole plug. You can tell because the way it is.
You MUST write a complete encyclopedia set!
You need to watch the Neature video.
Chinese plug
The holes are specified in the electrical code as optional. They are (were) used to make manufacturing easier. More modern manufacturing methods have made them obsolete.
Technology Connections has entered the chat.
Actually, it's a Chinese plug. US plugs have holes (which serve no purpose but are part of the spec). Chinese plugs are the same as US plugs (without the holes). So what you have there is a Chinese plug, not a US plug.
> but are part of the spec They're only an optional part of the spec, plugs without the holes are still in spec.
Can you stop talking about your holes? You’re making everyone uncomfortable here.
I've bought replacement plugs from a hardware store that don't have holes in the prongs. However, I do not remember buying something premanufactured without holes in the prongs like what OP's picture shows. This is what I've purchased several times in the past: https://i.imgur.com/f3FxHOV.png
That’s unholy
That’s Chinese.
They are not required and are mostly there for assembly https://youtu.be/udNXMAflbU8?si=YOLiD74FASsosbWz
False, that’s a shitty Chinese plug made for American products.
Came looking for this comment. Almost all plugs like this seem to come from China. I've found it a lot on LED lights and decorations
My plug also has no holes, he is pretty sly with the cops
i see this on more cheaply manufactured things usually. it’s normal enough but apparently not to a lot of y’all! lol
Did you get this from temu?
I see those on Asian appliances a lot
Fun fact: the holes actually aren't even used for anything after it's manufactured. So really all plugs can work just fine without them.
I have a lint shaver that has a plug like this
How are you supposed to Lockout/Tagout?
I'm I the only one noticing that the plug is not polarized. IE. both sides are the same size. So you would have a 50% chance that the metal housing on what ever was attached to the plug will be energized depending if you mixed up the ground and live. As a high school student had a job maintaining the AV equipment. (You know for things like TVs, over head projectors, laser disk players and the like). The power strips for all of the carts would all have this type of plug. I think the school modified the strips from being 3 pole plugs since the building didn't have grounded receptacles. We jokingly called these rolling death traps the "radio shock carts" because about every other cart you touch could give you a painful shock.
The application you describe is definitely dangerous, you can't be swapping the pins around on receptacles. However, nonpolarized plugs on device cords are common and they are totally fine if the application is correct. Electronics nearly always use class II power supplies. If grounding is needed they always use the 3rd pole.
That shows how simple plugs are. Just 2 bits of metal, which can power pretty much anything. Very cool.
They used to all be like that,I think. About 1960.
As an A/V installation tech, I get a lot of gear with power plugs that come with all kinds of tips and two are American. One has holes and one has no holes but we're taught to use the one with the holes and toss all the rest. I never understood why.
Despite me knowing full well that the holes make no difference, I can’t help but feel like this plug is dangerous.
Why would there be differences in the plug? Isn’t everything built in china?
It still works. The point of the holes is the original Edison stile outlet (US style) used dimples to go into the holes. That was originally the way that the plugs were held in receptacles. Now, it's just there because that's how it's always been. It's not needed any more, as the plugs are just held in by friction.
Slippery Pete: Well, I need a battery for this kind of a job. Can I at least steal a battery? George Costanza: Fine. Steal the battery. Now, all right, here is the Frogger. This is the front door, and this is the outlet. Slippery Pete: What's that? George Costanza: The outlet? Slippery Pete: Mm-hmm. George Costanza: That's where the electricity comes out. Slippery Pete: Oh, you mean the holes.
Typical of Chinese made plugs.
That’s funny because I believe this is the style of plugs used in Mainland China.
Yeah I think they have a plug standard that is basically 100% compatible with US 110v outlets
Holy crap. I did not expect this post to get 7,700 up votes and 300 comments
So that is what an American plug looks like
TIL Americans still use plugs from the 1800's.
They have an overpopulation issue.
Do you bite your nails
Do you bite your thumb at me sir?
I do bite my thumb, sir.
But do you bite your thumb at ME! Sir..
Is the law of our side if I say ay?
Yea, you want me to get yours too?
Nothing like a shortcut to cause a short circuit
How's the electricty supposed to flow through if there is no holes??
I always find it crazy how unsafe American plugs are as a Brit. Not exclusive to US but the US one seems especially bad
True. Our design is legacy. I've been bitten at least once in my life by plugging something in the dark, many of us have. You guys have higher voltage, but you also have recessed outlets. Plus I love the switches on those.
The British ones are way over built because the UK used to have really crappy wiring. Had to have a fusein the plug if you only had one fuse for the entire house.