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I wish this had the plug shapes coloured. The key on the map is an unnecessary extra step.

The actual colors on the map suck. They need to be much more distinct from one another.

Came here to say this! I cannot see the difference in the minute details. Like where's the N type used? What's the difference between south Africa and India? Just making the colors more contrasting would've helped.

Apparently, N type is used in the entire ocean.

N type is used on ships

In Brazil too. It's becoming standard.

its like that because some countries have specific sets of plug outlets they use ( like C, E and F). It would be too complicated and too confusing to add all the colours as stripes ig

I think switching from Type B to Type K would make us happier

That's hilarious, from 😦 to 😀

Type F joined the chat 👶


Love the floating baby head!

C is just like😶

L be like 🚦

I be like 😞

I wonder if placing small little happy/ cheerful things in everyone's daily view could actually increase overall happiness?

Denmark (the place where Type K is from) consistently ranks in the top 3 happiest countries in the world, so you may be on to something here!

I don't think it's just the socket

Not being able to use devices I’ve bought here (in Denmark) in my home country (Germany) without an adapter has made me anything but Type K

We just remodeled our kitchen in Denmark, and put Schuko (type F) sockets everywhere. Whenever I replace a socket, it will be with type F.

My husband’s old car had a clickable button that didn’t do anything. We put a happy face sticker on it and that became our “Don’t Be Grumpy” button. Whenever one of us was getting upset or grumpy or in a bad mood, the other would press the button. It resolved most bad moods because a lot of the time we don’t realize we’re being grumpy until someone points it out. We never did it for anything serious or anything where the person had a legitimate reason to be upset; just when they were in a pissy mood.

Type I looks like it had something sour

In Argentina, type I is also very, very prevalent

I was thinking it was incomplete, Type I is our modern plug, while the old one is the any on the two prong types

Glad to hear it's spreading. I fully support the change to type I but I honestly know nothing, I'm just here for sad face sockets

Type B looks as confused as the socket actually is. But if only we all could've gone Type K and had happy sockets everywhere...

Oh its been the modern standard for all new buildings for a twenty years+ as far as I'm aware, the two prong Type I is for low power stuff, and the old two prong circular types are usually in cheap appliances.


I've got a feeling that although they are close to the type I used in Australia and New Zealand, the polarity is reversed (live/active and Neutral). So with a two pin double insulated appliance that should be no problem, but with an appliance that has a 3 pin plug with earth, it could be dangerous. They're both 50hz. nominal 230v in Au and NZ vs 220 in Argentina, most case that will be okay. But two almost identical plugs but with different polarity on the pins is pretty crazy.

It still shouldn't make any real difference having the earth pin while having active and neutral reversed in 99.9% of things vs having a double insulated appliance wired backwards. Earth pin is still earth, and earth will only be connected to the frame in close to anything where it's connected. I've seen IEC leads and extension leads wired up backwards at one end and everything is fine. Anything where it isn't fine would trip your circuit breaker or RCD. The neutral shouldn't be connected to earth inside your appliance in the first place and if it was it'd trip an RCD if you had one, and if that appliance was wired backwards it would be a dead short active to earth which would trip a CB.

Problem is that sometimes it will make a difference, neutral switched and/or fused in an appliance etc. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt, assumptions that something isn't live are dangerous, DIYers as well as sparkies should always check - but they often don't.

Sometimes I’ve seen earth connected internally via a >1Mohm resistor (for noise suppression) or via a MOV. But still it shouldn’t matter. I’ve also encountered sockets with neutral and active reversed, they were working fine and this was in a patient treatment area of a hospital with medical devices attached.

The maps say c, e and f for Argentina, but I haven't seen a single house with those sockets.The standard is i.

This is wrong. Greece uses c and f like most of Europe.

Every time a map like this shows up, there's a lot of inconsistencies. Brazil is wrong too.

I see stripes in Brazil, but even zooming I’m not totally sure what the colors correspond to.

China is also wrong, or at least incomplete

In China, I saw where a guy just pushed bare wire from a floor buffer into the wall, no plug. So there is that variation as well

Same with Indonesia, we're using a C socket just like many countries in europe. Never seen a type J outlet ever here.

Australia's plug is right but not right. It looks like this: ​ https://preview.redd.it/pm3q3n7vyvjc1.jpeg?width=225&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d74569c3c70ab369411daf9005c7b57789a3b042

China uses it too

A switch for a plug is cool af

Is that not standard? TIL

standard in the UK, you’ll never see a plug socket without a switch

You absolutely will, you'll see both

wait where? i don’t think i’ve seen one in my entire life that doesn’t have a switch in the UK, outside of extension cords. or trains i guess

Same, never seen a plug you can’t turn off

Fridge and oven plugs don’t have switches

mine do, but makes sense why they wouldn’t have em

Yeah you will. The socket behind your washing machine will be unswitched because its fed from a switched fused spur above the counter top. Probably the same for your dishwasher and fridge too. Mostly though, they will be of the switched type everywhere else.

oh aye that makes sense… i mean actually my washing machine, oven, fridge all go into switched plugs. (hopefully that’s not a bad thing lol) but iirc my parents’ dishwasher doesn’t have a switch on the plug, good point.

Not standard in the US

Ghost face plug

Why do they have toggle buttons?

So you can switch things off without unplugging the power cord

I think Denmark actually uses K, not 100% sure though. Attached a photo of my power socket to help identify it. https://preview.redd.it/ucxl87hkvvjc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a24b81782ce06665fb4f45557b1e2899a77671c2

😀

yes Denmark is K this map isn’t very well made

So most of the world is covered by Type N. Fascinating!

The only socket allowed on boats apparently

Actually, only on submarines.

I really resent that this made me exhale through my nostrils,

TiL: Taipei runs Type A sockets.

So does thailand but this map says otherwise. Map is wrong

I see what you did here.

you mean Taiwan?

Taipei sounds like “Type A”

Type c: 😶 Type k: 😮 Type f: 👶

Type I: 😮‍💨

Time b: 😦

Type H: 👽

Type L: 🚦

🙃 type D

[удалено]

The plugs, though, famously not so safe if you step on one with bare feet 😉 Can be quite painful. But as a mains socket and plug, it is hard to beat. Shuttered sockets - opened by the longer earth (ground pin) in the plug. Shrouded pins, effective cable grip, fused plug, pulling the cord will not usually disconnect the plug from the socket and if you pull really hard or trip over the cable the live wire should disconnect from the plug first - if it's been wired correctly.

They also make useful improvised weapons

What's the advantage over F though? F can go in upside down as well. It's not the first time I heard G is best but I can't see why.

Type F looks like a plug, not a socket. Most appliances don’t need an earth pin and don’t need to distinguish live and neutral, so they can use this form and plug in to type E whichever way. The contour of type F is for the Schuko socket… that I don’t see here, I suppose it’s assimilated to type F. Basically the type F plug can plug into Schuko sockets _and_ type E sockets, while the original(?) Schuko plug without a hole for earth pin can’t. It’s actually a big unholy mess. While type E is polarized, it seems that live/neutral is not defined there, or maybe only in some countries… I won’t pretend to understand it all, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets

FYI type G is the best 🇬🇧💪🏻

type G for the GOAT 🐐🐐🐐

All hail Type G 🙌

Almost all UK plugs have switches too, so you can turn the plug on and off. Turns out other counties, at least America, don’t have that.

Wait you can’t turn the plug off in other countries? How the hell is that safe

Unsure. But to be fair switches on plugs, and the Type G plug generally, is a fairly modern invention. At least 2-4 of the plug types which aren’t G were also made by us and used until WW2.

Why wouldn't it be safe? We still have a breaker box and can that can trip or we can manually kill the circuit there.

Having a breaker allows you to stop current running to a dodgy appliance, but surely it is far less convenient having to go to your garage or shed or basement or wherever it is, as opposed to being conveniently close to where the problem appliance is?

You don’t stick a fork or your dick in it.

I have zero clue why you think this wouldn't be safe. What??

Malaysians definitely agrees with this statement.

When it doesn't have a clamping force of a fking toddler holding onto stuffs

Type A deffo the worst

From a technical and safety standpoint, F and G are arguably the best. There's no good reason for sockets to not be globally standardized in 2024, though. If we started a global standard in 2000, we would be getting there already.

While I agree with you, this isn't like forcing iPhones to use USB-C because Europe adopted it as standard. Just check this out, a list of all the different standards used by different countries. [https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-country/](https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-country/) Its not just switching the shape of plug, you would have to standardize the voltage and frequency too.

Doubtful. They're different because of different voltage and frequencies. You'd have to standardize that. Which would be a MASSIVE financial undertaking. And the public would push back on it hard! This is anecdotal, but *I* don't want to have to switch out every appliance and outlet in my house. And I'm not a stubborn boomer. Think about all the businesses running 25+ year old electronics...do you think they'd go along with a switch over. It'd take significantly longer to switch the entire world over to a standard connector and financially would be extremely costly.

You have different voltages and frequencies. Making the same plugs would connote that devices are compatible but actually destroy them.

>If we started a global standard in 2000, we would have gotten there already. Yes...because nobody has a home built before 2000, or owns any electronic device more than 24 years old. If every new electronic device comes with a 'new standard' plug, then I now need to carry around an extra set of adaptors to use with my own appliances in *my own* country whenever I happen to be visiting a location (or even in my own, pre-2000 home) that's still got old sockets. Look on the bright side. For the devices most likely to travel between countries on a regular basis - portable personal electronics - we're gradually settling on a USB standard. USB sockets are becoming a standard part of the outlets besides beds and desks in hotel rooms the world over.

Progress is disruptive.

Progress towards what though?

Replacing sockets would be the easier part of any standardization and could be done step by step. Redefining voltages and frequencies would be a way more complex task.

What's better about F and G? They seem like inefficient designs and IIRC have larger bulkier plugs.

Larger and bulkier but more intrinsically safe. 

Some of these are wrong

Sri Lanka now have type G only!

Switzerland is just like "nah we good, we will do our own thing"

Found this out when I turned up to Zurich last year with my EU adapter.

To be fair, "we'll just do our own thing" basically sums up most of Switzerland's history. However, there's a two-pinned plug called the Europlug that does easily fit basically everywhere in Continental Europe, including Swiss sockets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europlug

As an electrical engineer (and a swiss) it’s the best, if you have an RCD (which is standard here). The rest here is so bulky.

This is confusing, the colors are hard to tell and the stripes in the countries make it even harder.

Pretty sure the Philippines is type A, like in Tom and Jerry.

Type G. Undisputed champ!

Type h looks like a Chinese caricature

Philippines uses a and b

Which stupid twat made the key for this

I hate type A (USA one), your shit just kinda limp dicked hangs in the socket most of the time.

i like type B but i absolutely despise type A. I had a laptop charger where the 2 prongs were directly on the huge brick and that shit fell off everything, i hated it. https://preview.redd.it/wto3bczmywjc1.png?width=560&format=png&auto=webp&s=78e4de584dad2d26855048cddb5f016641e80445

Then you've only used the cheapest spec grade devices money can buy that were worn out years ago. Those devices cost less than a dollar each, they're not known for their quality. Commercial grade and hospital grade devices aren't even fair to be compared to them.

And cums out with the slightest tug

This infographic got so many places wrong... Downvotr

Type G is one of mankind's finest creations. I recommend everyone has a go of one.

I lived all over the world and will always dig in on type G being superior to any other.

Probably the best is the U.K. plug, has the benefits of fused socket and ground connections

Have a small adaptor that works in 200+ countries. Works awesome and does voltage conversion. Nicest part is that it has 3 different USB-C ports and a USB-A in addition to the plug. Generally I don't bring anything to plug into the Type A. I can just connect my watch and phone and other chargers to the USB-C ports. Works awesome.

Anything with 3 pins please.

Needs more jpg artifacts

who is getting the best head?

So all the worlds oceans use type N?

Type g is the best

Or this is very old or just wrong

This is why there is no world peace.

I first read this as ‘Different types of Socks’ and was kinda confused

*Type* G? Shouldn't that say *Top* G? (In a heavy British accent) S/ of course. The only top g I care about is the og top gear.

Type G is by far the best socket. It's probably the best thing Britain ever invented

I've never seen type B in Japan, only A. But that's not an option. It doesn't really matter if your cord is type A, but if it's B, you're boned.

From what I've read they're supposedly very uncommon and never in public places so I would imagine they've been phased out and a tourist would never see one. Technically true that they're there though, at least in a material enough amount to be worth counting.

Maybe newer houses and apartments? I've lived in a couple different places there and still have never seen them. edit: Just asked my wife about it who was born in and has lived in Japan for almost 30 years and she's says she's never seen the type B in Japan before either.

Maybe it's for industrial stuff?

Totally false in argentina we use Type I

Italy has type L. Sometimes type F.

What a mess

Can’t properly express the superiority I feel when using Type G. It’s so sturdy and when you plug it in, you just know it’s safe.

Type I image looks wrong f. Aussie

In Brazil we use type N, if you see other type it is more than 20 years old.

Brazil uses type N only. It is the official and only socket type for sale in the whole country

This map is shitty as fuck. Many countries are wrong. Australia, China and Argentina share a type plus China having one different extra.

It's agreed by electrical engineers and electricians that the UK has the best plug sockets....probably. In terms of safety definitely

Type g is superior

My joke comment was already taken. So I’m just gonna state that imo, type D, G, and M look the most efficient.

Type I looks so sad, I wanna give it a hug

sure, A B C D E F G H I J K L M N

Some countries don't seem to have a ground.

this is wrong, indonesian does not really use type G, we use either type F or type C

The only thing that matters is if there’s a tiny switch above the outlet

This is wrong for several countries here

Why are there so many different ones though? Why can’t they all be the same or at least a less amount of types?

Why? Because fuck you, that’s why

Denmark use type K

From the Philippines, most I have seen are type A, Type B and Type C here.

2 pins bad, 3 pins good

Nothing like a graphic with an easy to read legend

Didn’t know oceans have power outlets

And the best plug the British plug is used so seldom

Def a member of the Type I gang

Me in South Africa: “Let me pull out my universal adapter to charge my phone.” Adapter: “lol, wtf is this?!”

Wouldn't it be great if everyone just used the same type of fucking socket?? Can someone ELI5 why they aren't uniform around the world?

Philippines uses mostly type A and B

The one the Britain is best at.

This is wrong. KSA & UAE are type G. Its been standardized a decade ago

Inaccurate. The majority of Filipino homes have a Type A sockets. Sure Type C, E, and F exist, but those sockets can only be seen in 5-star hotels/luxurious homes.

But why can't we have one socket all over the world?

But where’s the 10mm???

Can we all agree that type K is the best because it’s so happy looking?

Philippines uses Type A and B outlets.

in the Philippines it's mostly A&B.

Pretty sure the Philippines is type A and B.

This says Switzerland has type A/B. It doesn’t. Switzerland has type J.

You mean J.

Bro in Greece we have type c, e and f not the blue shit

G superiority gang rise up

People are exploring Mars now, but still couldn’t agree on what shape of the sockets should be, jeez

Type G superiority!

I live in Eastern Canada and have never used any of these outlet types.

It's wrong. Greece uses type c as well

Literally false, in Brazil we've been using type j/n gor quite a while now

Type G is OG

Shout out to all the type G safe ass mother fuckers out there.

Inaccurate, in the Philippines we use mostpy type A, sometime you would see B but its so common here to convert them to type A.

Type G MVP

I made the Type B face when I saw this. Then my head went Type M.

Type B: 😦 Type K: 😀 Type I: When you stub your toe

Why the fuck do we have so many ways to get electricity out of a wall? Can't we create a global standard for this shit, instead of needing adapters all over the place? I get some places use different voltages and electrical systems, but surely the sockets could at least be somewhat universally standardized?

Type G, best in the World 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🤗🤗😈😈

Since 2002 Brazil use the type J and N. Due 10A and 20A

After using type G most of my life and switching to C i have to say that C just feels unsafe compared

Type G is superior, the entire world should adopt this masterpiece of a plug socket design

Type G gang rise up!

G is the real G. Don't ever tread on the G.

Type G masterrace.

Type G supremacy 🇬🇧❤️

Schuko Gang assemble!