xkcd #3186: Truly Universal Outlet
Title text:
Building Inspectors HATE This One Weird Trick
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3186/
this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2025
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I think Randal would enjoy my plug adapter
Ugh, what a shameless plug
You try spending your whole life getting penetrated by various foreign objects and not feeling shame
The penetrated usually penetrates too.
Break the chain of abuse, but careful, something important might be plugged into the other end.
This also makes me wonder why the xkcd one was laid out like that. Is the xkcd one better/safer, or was it done that way to look more insane.
On yours, the Canada/US and UK layouts overlap, while in the xkcd one they're opposite to each other.
Yeah I think that's it lol
I think it's because mine doesn't have Schuko (type f) support ... probably because it's real? And maybe because his adaptation uses "Euro"/A combination, wheras mine uses vertical axes for the "euro" plug.
N/L are “reversed” on the UK BS1363 standard vs US/EU Earthed plugs. By having two sets of N/L you can ensure that they are always correctly wired.
This is often why some adaptors seem to be “upside down”
Most devices can handle N/L being swapped, though.