Everything comes with plugs attached nowadays and are much more reliable. Changing plugs was a regular part of life in the 70s, it was a skill taught to you. I honestly can't even remember the last time I changed a plug or fuse.
" Why did it go wrong if the wires came out of the socket?" The earth(ground) wire came out first, and then it touched the live(hot) wire causing the short circuit...the human body (the plonker with the drill) became the ground, and the circuit became complete.
Famous story behind this. George Lucas saw this and asked him to repeat his performance in Star Wars three years later. He's a stormtrooper and Chewy shoots him in the shoulder when they're escaping from the Death Star. Drives buses through Peckham now though.
@Time71Team Yes, that was always the problem on Xmas Day in the 70s. None of the toys came with either plugs or batteries, both of which, for some unfathomable reason, were not allowed. So at 9am on Xmas Day, there were plugs being ripped off hairdryers and toasters, and batteries pinched from Uncle Len's hearing aid.
Back when this was made a plug would only have cost around 30 to 35 pence and around 2 minutes to wire it... but you always get one that does something like this.
@surbon514 My brother got zapped by 220V while doing some work in the kitchen. It knocked him a few feet away, and he felt very strange afterwards for an hour or so, but he was otherwise OK. While America has the lower voltage, it generally means more current has to be carried. Wires heat up more, and there are more fires from that point of view.
I ran out of 50p's for the electric meter, so I connected some jump leads to the local railway line and got fuckin' electrocuted. Don't try this at home kids !
@3DPlanets are you in the US? Voltages in America are a lot less than in the UK. Also, which end? If it was after the big black inverter box on your charger it would
I would be interested to know if British electricians (or amateurs) get killed or maimed more often than in Canada. Britain uses 240V/50Hz, we use 120/60. I've known a couple people over here who have been badly zapped by a mains outlet but lived. I'd bet in Britain they wouldn't get a second chance- that's serious voltage! Note, I am not criticizing Britain, it's just something I thought about
Maybe the premises had just been rewired, resulting in the old type D and M plugs no longer fitting, and he wanted a quick way to work without fitting the new type G. Or maybe he'd not fitted a robust type G in the first place and had broken it. Either way, not a clever move to proceed as he did.
Ah... back in the day when you shaved from a light socket. There's a reason why health and safety came in a big way, because some people were BLOODY STUPID!
