I mean, they’re right. It does sound really stupid
The clueless people are out there among us
Submitted 3 weeks ago by Mickey7@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/094c5e33-7d5c-4e20-ae4d-2a00c00ddae6.png
Comments
OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 weeks ago
Would be great if an equally clueless European followed up with
“So I visited your country and remembered seeing this post but when I got there, none of my stuff would fit in your outlets. What the fuck?”
kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Take the adapter off, moron.
endeavor@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
One of worlds longest running experiments is when an european tourist visited america and tried to boil water using a kettle and a travel adapter.
The paper published on the experiment noted that water finally reached temperatures of 63c in 2017.
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 3 weeks ago
I’ll be choosing an inverter soon. In the US, but considering a 240v just for the kettle.
SouthEndSunset@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Someone from Germany or France or one of the other States should do that to take the piss.
/s
blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
No-one going to mention that they said countries and named two continents?
Tartas1995@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
I didn’t realize because I am too used to it.
slappypantsgo@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Because it reads like this:
“In some countries, [like those in] Europe and South America”.
Charlxmagne@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Read it again, d’you really think the same person who wrote that genuinely knows Europe isn’t a country?
ICastFist@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
Coming from a 'murican, it’s safer to assume they can’t name a single country when given a map
blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
No it doesn’t
Formfiller@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
People like this think Trump is a genius
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Coming soon:
What do you mean my US dollars aren’t accepted at any big intl. tourist locations anymore… I have to actually exchange them?
umbraroze@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
And in the big touristy cities in Europe, there’s so many scam currency exchanges, while if you just take the time to go to official government exchanges, you get reasonable exchange rates. The problem isn’t the locals, the problem is that you didn’t do the research and you did a dum-dum. (Also fuck the people who are scamming tourists, that’s just low.)
derpgon@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
Always check currency in the country you are traveling to, always check approx exchange rate. These are literally just two searches and you are never gonna get exchange scammed (if you use an exchange and not change on the street from random people and get fake or valueless cash).
Blackmist@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
I realised this when I took money out of a cash machine in Tenerife.
It shows you an exchange rate and a prompt to accept. If you press yes, you get scammed with a crap rate. It’s not really clear that if you press no you still get money but at your bank exchange rate which is almost certainly better than a scummy airport ATM.
I guess it’s nice that you get scammed right out of the gate, because at least it puts you on guard for the rest of your holiday. Fuck that whole island tbh.
AA5B@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
At the risk of being that idiot ……
I’m still annoyed at crossing a border over an international bridge and having to exchange currency to pay the toll. There’s a good argument that situation should support both currencies at that border.
And of course the currency exchange at that toll did not allow exchanging the amount of the toll. Scammy ripoff of people trying to cross forcing them to exchange larger amounts than they need
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Oh no I don’t find that idiotic, that is very annoying, literally anywhere, between any two countries.
I guess the workaround is to plan ahead and do your currency exchanges before hand, but at least in the US, if you do that in cash, well now you’re a drug smuggler or something if you’re brown and/or not in the best mood.
I mean, everybody just has the ability to open up bank account debit/credit cards in multiple currencies, right?
Your bank doesn’t do currency exchange?
Not my problem, pleb, stay in your geographically confined area with a particular force of monopolized violence.
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The only places I’ve found that take USD are really poor places that really want USD, and maybe Mexico. Even some of those places will really take advantage of the exchange and you get way less than what the USD is worth if you just pay with USD.
I travel all the time and tourist locations, barring the ones I mentioned, don’t want anything to do with handling USD when tapping a card or phone to pay is vastly preferred.
callyral@pawb.social 3 weeks ago
Well, that did sound really stupid.
DmMacniel@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Not do we need a “special adapter” but a converter as well, as Households in the US use 110V opposed to the usual 230V.
ryannathans@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
Houses in the US generally have 220v too but not at ordinary wall outlets
There’s a technology connections video on it if you’re interested in the specifics
Spezi@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
A few years ago there was the possibility of me moving to the US from Germany and if I would have bought a house there, I would probably have installed additional Schuko-outlets all over the place.
Zwiebel@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Yes and in Europe houses generally have 400V too but not at ordinary wall outlets
DmMacniel@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
There’s a technology connections video on it if you’re interested in the specifics
Exactly :)
bampop@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Oh don’t worry about that, just plug in your 110V appliances and watch them run twice as fast
amateurcrastinator@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
When I was 17 my father brought back a stereo from Japan. I was too eager to use it and plugged that directly to 220. It worked for a glorious 2 minutes. We got it working again after we replaced the transformer. Still have it and it still works fine to this day. Learned a lesson too!
vaionko@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
It’s less of a problem nowadays where most things have switching power supplies that can handle either just fine
MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Oh this gets stranger.
It’s usually 120v, but I’m not going to split hairs over 10v.
So, 120v is not a voltage that is delivered from the grid… Technically speaking. Each home is given one circuit of 240v, which is usually part of one leg of a three phase, coming off of the Transformers… 120v is there because they center-tap the transformer. This halves the voltage by consequence. Inside the house the circuits are generally laid out to try to balance the load between each half of the 240v phase.
The idea is that two 120v loads, put in series, will total 240v. So power will ideally go from L1 to a 120v load, to “neutral”, then over to another 120v load, then finally back on L2.
More or Less.
120v is basically just half of what you should be loading the system with.
The center tap neutral from the transformer is to collect any load imbalance between L1 and L2 to allow for the two “sides” of the phase to be out of balance and still work.
The US “plug” ( aka receptacle ) is a NEMA 5-15R, or NEMA 5-20R (for 20A); these are designed for 120v operation using the half phase described above. Of course, you can mis-wire it and make all kinds of dangerous abominations if you so choose. There is, however, a less known NEMA 6-15R and NEMA 6-20R that is basically the same, but for 240v operation, replacing the neutral wire with L2 instead (and 15/20A respectively).
So it is entirely possible to have 240v outlets in a North American home, while still being compliant with code.
It’s actually really fascinating information when your dig into it.
slingstone@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What’s a good resource for learning about electrical engineering for people starting from nearly zero knowledge? I’d love to learn more so I don’t burn my house down if I want to, say, replace a light fixture in my house.
SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
For most things people bring on vacation it wouldn’t be a problem since chargers and power supplies can run on multiple voltages. It’s for things like hairdryers where you need converter. Since they are calibrated for a specific voltage to create heat. Though you could probably run them at half settings on the double voltage.
sowitzer@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
I know it’s difficult to tell online, but I read that as a joke post. Not serious. But it’s better for others to make fun of others for being clueless I guess.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah. It always strikes me as bizarre how many people online see something that would only be satire in a sane world and completely assume it’s serious. They have no doubts. Never occurred to them it might be a joke…
TheV2@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
Why would you start a joke post with “this is going to sound really stupid”?
Technus@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Regardless of where you are, can we all agree that no one’s really perfected the electrical outlet yet?
NA plugs make contact without being fully seated, and can leave their live and neutral pins exposed. Worn outlets just let plugs fall out of them (I have 3 or so outlets in my apartment that are borderline unusable because of this).
British plugs are bulky and turn into caltrops when dropped on the floor.
European plugs have the same problem. And you only get like, one outlet per receptacle? Guess you’re shit out of luck if you wanna plug anything else in the same spot.
Most of the rest of the world just copied Europe or the UK.
I like Denmark’s plug though. Cute lil smiley face.
LordWiggle@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Euro plugs are perfect. They connect well, have no live metal exposed, power strips are safe, it can handle 230V Without a problem. They are being copied everywhere because they are well designed.
Jesus_666@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think the Swiss have the best Europlug-based system. Their three-conductor plugs have the same footprint as basic Europlugs, which makes for very dense plug arrangements. Unlike e.g. the German Schuko plug they only fit in one orientation so you get no polarity issues.
It’s pretty neat.
filcuk@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
I do prefer English plugs. Euro can wear out or just not hold in as well if they’re cheaply made. Never ever had that issue with English ones.
Pilferjinx@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Couldn’t they’ve made it in a smaller form factor?
kate@lemmy.uhhoh.com 3 weeks ago
i like the compactness of this triple-plug design used for Type-J, used in switzerland and lichtenstein, although it missed some other points (no insulated pins, no on-off switch, etc)
orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Cables going in 3 directions? Who can live at that speed?
exu@feditown.com 3 weeks ago
Most connectors I have use partially insulated live/neutral. Ground is optional and completely uninsulated where it’s present for safety.
Also, recessed receptacles hide the most dangerous parts.bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
The on/off switch always struck me as odd. Like, in a recessed plug such as this where the male prongs have a bit of insulation to them, are they really that worried about a tiny arc that might occur when someone forgets to turn off the device? Like it would make more sense to have a limit switch built into the socket that activates on insertion and deactivates on removal. And even then, with our caveman sockets in the US, a small arc isn’t the end of the world, you just know not to have your fingers near the shiny bits.
chellomere@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
European plugs have the same problem. And you only get like, one outlet per receptacle? Guess you’re shit out of luck if you wanna plug anything else in the same spot.
The standard amount of outlets per receptacle here (Sweden) is two. Maybe in very old houses it would be only one, but that’s rare. If you run into that, therr are splitters that make one into two, you don’t need to have an extender to split it.
Hoimo@ani.social 3 weeks ago
I don’t think it’s fair to judge plugs by how they behave when dropped on the floor (unless they’re exposing live wires). Do you often have a lot of loose plugs lying around? If you find yourself unplugging things a lot to turn them off, you may be interested to hear the switch was invented not long after the light bulb for exactly this reason.
Technus@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
If you find yourself unplugging things a lot to turn them off, you may be interested to hear the switch was invented not long after the light bulb for exactly this reason.
- As if that’s the only reason you’d ever unplug something.
- Vampire loads. Turns out, most things don’t completely turn off anymore. Yes, it adds up.
Dave@lemmy.nz 3 weeks ago
Does NA not have insulated pins? Where a half inch of so of the pin nearest the plug head is insulated so when plugging in the exposed part of the pin is inside the hole before the pin makes contact with live power?
Quill7513@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
that’s cute. nah tho. the pins are just… out there. ready to kill you
Technus@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
It does not. Some devices may have that on their plugs, but it’s certainly not standard.
One night when I was 14, I tried to plug in my phone charger beside my bed in the dark and was accidentally touching one of the pins when it made contact.
Fortunately, I wasn’t completing the circuit and I was electrically isolated laying on my bed, so I didn’t actually get shocked. But I did feel a buzz in my finger like you get from those prank toys that shock the victim. That’s a sensation I will never forget.
Not defending our plugs at all.
KiwiTB@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
UK plug for sure is amazing, the caltrops is just to get you ready for standing on Lego.
jimmux@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
AU outlets sound pretty good by comparison. I’m sure there are improvements to be made, but I never have any of those issues.
xwolpertinger@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I like Denmark’s plug though. Cute lil smiley face.
Don’t let that fool you, it hides a dark secret
mmddmm@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
The Brazilian plug has none of those problems…
Also, what European plug are you talking about? There are quite a few models there.
shneancy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
re: european outlets number: we usually just get an extender with multiple ports, i have 5 of those in my small flat
anachrohack@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
England perfected it
Phen@lemmy.eco.br 3 weeks ago
Brazil’s “new” plug (two decades maybe) is pretty good. Doesn’t have any of the problems you mentioned. It’s similar to one used by a few other countries around Europe.
REDACTED@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
Your electronics blows up under EU mighty 240v power lines
Treczoks@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Found the American.
JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Average American voter?
Skullgrid@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I live in a country with two plug types and actually have to use a fuckload of converters
JeremyHuntQW12@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The Type I plug was developed by the US government but blocked in Congress during the FDR administration by the Republicans and southern Democrats on the basis that it was a change from the multiple different outlets being used at the time. The 3 core plug didn’t become standard until 1965.
yarr@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
At least they knew it was going to sound stupid.
NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
We simply use travel adapters.
DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
They were right.
It does sound really stupid.
Jaberw0cky@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The funny thing is only the UK plug design is any good, all others are so much worse they should just give up and go home.
PanArab@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
I think British style plugs are the best despite their bulkiness. For one they are easily fixed and are designed to be so.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about watch this: youtu.be/COWlYUvzgZI
inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
And these people vote…
anachrohack@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Thailand has really cool plugs. they’re shaped so they can fit European or American outlets, quite often. I rarely needed an adapter when I was there
Shardikprime@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I mean makes sense, there is a big Chunk of population in the USA who don’t have the means and opportunity to travel abroad and get used to the other electrical outlets in other countries.
Hell I think 30% of the adults in there haven’t ever been abroad once on their lifetime.
Understandably, it’s going to baffle more than one person who gets shared those travel experiences from traveling acquaintances
altphoto@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
Sounds like a presidential test for those of presidential age.
Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
There are even converters that will switch single phase 120 to 3 phase 240
BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
exhales
Raiderkev@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Big if true
nerv@lemmynsfw.com 3 weeks ago
This is all about standard issues.
Archangel1313@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
“I don’t have an accent…YOU have an accent!!”
KingJalopy@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
I moved to California last year from Oklahoma. Occasionally I will say something about moving from Oklahoma and people are like, “oh that makes sense, you have a Midwestern accent sometimes”. We all sound normal to ourselves but everyone has an accent. Like the way California people say their O’s.
Quill7513@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
Midwesterners are the only people I’ve ever met who don’t think they have an accent. And I’m like “you have a midwest accent.” They’re stunned because to them it’s just a “normal” accent, and they know it must be so because it’s what the TV man talks like. Obviously I know midwesterners who know they have an accent and the TV man is trained to speak that way. But everyone else I meet and know knows their own accent and can recognize variations of it. They’re not so conscious of how they make their accent happen, obviously, since it is their own. But they know they sound different from other people
sebi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I have a hard time understanding the people in a freinds village and he lives 50km away
sugarfoot00@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
As a Canadian, it’s all I can hear when they speak.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
So, I’m from Seattle, basically, and for the longest time I thought no, I do not have an accent.
Then I learned that the reason I thought that was because well, the accent I have is basically the least distinct from the ‘General American English’ or ‘Region Indistinct American’ accent, out of all other regional accents…
With that ‘General American’ accent being what nationwide newscasters, voice actors and movie stars either developed on their own, or were trained into, for being easily intelligible to any other American accent/dialect speaker, or as just sort of a rounded approximation of ‘American’, with no specified regionality to the character.
Thats not to say the PNW or Cali or just general US West accents are all exactly the same as ‘General American’… they are not… its just that they are the least difficult to understand from a general audience perspective… or at least that is the explanation I’ve heard.
As I am aware, the main difference between PNW/Cali English and other US regions is that we have completed the cot-caught merger. Absolutely no difference in pronunciation, the verb sounds are the same… whereas in much of the rest of the US, these are different, distinct vowel sounds. We just use the ‘cot’ pronounciation for both.
Bot cot thot slot thought caught fraught not spot dot.
All the same. No rolling or bending of the first vowel into the u to make a more complex vowel sound, all just ‘bot’ or ‘dot’.
That and pop vs soda vs coke.
For whatever reason, I usually say soda, but that did make me an oddball of most people around me near Seattle saying ‘pop’.
…
There are a few things that I remember being distinct to Californian accents/dialects as compared to Seattle:
One is the rising tone at the end of the sentence… thing.
I always called this a valley girl accent, and this is because no one I knew as a kid spoke that way… unless their family had recently moved north, from Cali.
Now though, it is more common generally in the PNW, at least in my own experience… but also that could literally be because a lot of Californians have migrated north.
Another silly, but super easy tell someone isn’t from Seattle: Their accent may be essentially indistinguishable from a PNW accent… but they always, always refer to I-5, as ‘the 5’… instead of ‘eye-five’.
No one born and raised near Seattle does this.
I-5 is the main highway that goes all the way down from Vancouver BC, through Seattle, Portland, San Fran, LA, and runs through all of those cities, so its a major reference point of conversation in all those places.
And yeah, the regional vocab difference for how people refer to it is an example of a difference.
SolarMyth@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
People in other countries use all sorts of crazy “languages”. We don’t bother with that here, we just talk normally.
96VXb9ktTjFnRi@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
Why can’t people just be normal. I am being my normal self, but other people seem different. Bastard freaks.
stebo02@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
Language proficiencies: Common
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Relevant exchange from Suicide Squad (the good one with Idris Elba and Flula, not the bad one with Will Smith and Jared Leto)
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I dated someone who in earnest believed she has no accent. She didn’t understand what could be wrong about that.