Why do electric plugs have holes? You have seen them for years but what do they do? Stop believing the myths & learn what they do for yourself. After receiving multiple comments asking me to answer this question I hope you enjoy this video.
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@Richard Wolfe koi koi
Its there to have a Tighter fit in the plug... if it wasnt there it would just slide out with ease!!! Thats why the holes are there.. Sounds Dumb, punching a hole through it bends the metal so it locks in the plug.
@Víðarr Kerr - From what I understood from the video, the holes themselves were a derivation of the small indentations from the original design by Hubbell. Other companies worked around Hubbell's design with the holes so they wouldn't have to pay Hubbell for his work. Both the small indents and the holes were there to secure the plug into the outlet so it wouldn't pull out easily. Modern day outlets, however, don't have any internal design that utilizes the holes in plugs to secure them in place. The holes are in fact obsolete or serve no purpose but we continue to use them because that's what people are conditioned to see. The prongs of plugs could be completely solid (no holes) and they would work just fine.
So, what were they for???????
You meant "indentation". There's no such thing as an "indention".
I'm gonna fill those holes and see what hap
Tldr; the same reason we still do circumcision
That hitachi wand...
Okay then , he still didn’t answer the question why are they there
Stupid!
I wish outlets would have a click into place and you'd have to press an eject button to remove them, that would save many people from accidentally unplugging it, and it would put the stress on the pegs going through the connector, not the friction-fit connectors, and they'll be less likely to loosen over time.
Do Nothing Holes ✅ Got It
45,000 Likes... for a couple of holes. Lol, nice.
So you can make one more for every 5 holes you didn't fill up. And 6 is greater than 5.
The Algorithm Brought me here....
I’ve got a high quality modern extension cord with a button to lock and unlock plugs by use of those holes, but crappy plugs get stuck in there because they are putting those holes on without any intended purpose.
Whats the device at 2.04?
The holes let the electricity get in.
Long ago (around 2007 or something back when SEworld video responses were still a thing), I saw a fake tutorial saying that you could power a TV off a AA or AAA battery. The method was to use RCA jacks in the power plug holes and the other ends using a battery. Something like that. Of course, people tried this and it didn't work, including someone using a video response.
Where I work, we have this old extension cord which has a lever you can flip which locks the plug into the cord so it can't fall out. I'm sure it utilizes those holes for that purpose. I wish this feature were present on more extension cords!
I never wondered that un til I saw this video lol
Why do 🔌 have holes? The same reason that humans have holes on their behind.
Well that was stupid... additional process in manufacturing without any good reason
I use extension cord that can be locked with plugged-in electrical accessories, the lock`s mechanism use this holes for safety and will avoid unwanted unplug! You can type in google search : "Plug locker Heavy-Duty Extension Cord".
It reduces sparks on contact from being seen as much..
I was looking at some extension plugs. On one older one, the holes are on the inside only of each leg and on another, the opposite, holes on the outside only. Both have legs that are folded over and the hole is on one side only. The 3rd has solid legs without any holes.
I dont think they drill a hole they already have it in the mold
Personally, I would prefer if they reinstalled to latching mechanism in the outlets... my chargers unplug WAY too easily and often... LoL
Honestly I liked the first answer about needing a standardized plug, so I’ll go with that one 😂
First of all, no such word as "indention." You were probably thinking of "indentation." Secondly, the holes were used in the early days to help remove any corrosion on the socket contacts as the plug would be inserted and removed.
The original patent documents clearly describe the holes as the retention mechanism the corrosion ability is a myth with no documentation supporting this.
It's interesting that the holes were originally used to keep the plug from falling out. The real question then is when and why did the manufacturers stop making sockets to take advantage of that design feature?
That's the question I spent hours on. I believe it ended around the 50s, I could not find any example outlets after that with the prongs in use and because so many companies made outlet it varied per brand so one brand may have kept it going longer. The standard itself never actually changed and since they weren't required they likely just stopped using them.
I kinda remember when I was a kid in the late 60’s and 70’s having trouble pulling plugs out of the sockets. Maybe those holes were doing their job.
NOPE....UK HAS PROPER PLUGS :]
The UK plugs were so far ahead of their time when they were created. They are excellent.
0:19 I didn't know the Italians made a mjolnir
typical USA design stupidity. You wanna see REAL STUPID ? look at product packaging in USA products. Food products packaging to be exact. Ever tried to open a food product package? Go ahead and try.
Wow, that's a modern socket / wall receptacle? Ugh...
I never knew it !
The American plug is shit anyway. The European plug and socket are the best and safest. ------------ Change my mind.
U got the reason in 0:50 when u showed the plug u over pushed it and u just got blind or idk there is a little bend fot it ... thats the 1st reason :)
Look carefully the holes are chamfered and offer no resistance to the prongs. The original plug patent included actual points that settled into the holes. Those have not existed since at least the 60s
Nope, I never wondered why electric plugs have holes.
I return appliances that don't have holes
And it's still a terrible and dangerous design.
Actually, there are some extension cords that use a locking female end. I've seen it several times as a commercial electrician. Certain drop course utilize those holes and when you plug it into a locking extension cord it does not allow the end to be pulled out accidentally. You have to pull back a release collar to be able to unplug your device.
lock out tag out loto.,. hahahaha
As a European, I don't care that much
On some level i knew this, but didn't want to admit it.
It really is obvious when they're missing. Not sure why, but it's unsettling seeing no holes.
If theres a hole theres a way
😵
With those holes you save so much steel in big production line
Open up a Hospital Grade outlet. It does incorporate the holes for retention purposes
I have opened several and none of them utilize the holes. Hospital outlets are under UL 498 and if you review this document, this is not required there either.
Most plugs have holes in both prongs, but the plug on my electric golf cart only has a hole in one.
Europeans: *what?*
So wtf are the holes for, dick? You can’t make a video like that and just leave us hanging.
“Indentions”? Is that like an intention to make a hole? Or did you mean indentations?
Probably won't see this but great vid bro I dont know have I have never seen u before
Yeah probably because of design to help electricity to get in
After all that you didn’t tell us the reason
The holes replaced the indentations that Hubell had originally used in early outlets to hold the plug in position 1:00 - what they became later is explained further in the video. Hope this is helpful.
Some extension cords have a locking mechanism in them to go into those holes so when you move the cord stays plugged
some do not have them made now
2:03 nobody actually going to talk about that lol
Convient tho if You wanted to twist wires to them or connect terminals (not advised but could be done)
Laugh in asia
Am I the only one to catch the humor at 2:03
I wonder how many countries don't have those holes? We don't in Australia.
“Fast-forward to day?” “Indentions?” Are you not a native English speaker?
Correct, I am from New Jersey
Less material saves money when 400 million units are made with a penny of metal saved each is still 4 million dollars...
I just feel bad for the person who wants to use the vibrator but can't because this guy locked it...
Thoughts in the shower be like:
“Because that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
I would guess that the holes are most often there because while modern outlets don't really require them, a lot of older outlets (which you WILL still find in a lot of houses) still need them.
"We've always done it that way." Reason enough.
They are used to dissipate heat.
The holes are useful if you are connecting a cord to a "wall wart" transformer inside a chassis. You can run the wires through the hole and solder them in place.
Holly cow! I thought I was going to get the hole truth here! So Silver Cymbal got you all to plug in turn on and drop out? With nearly 4,000,000 diode heads tuning in, he's going to make enough money to produce another crappy video!
Listen, you now know more than 99.9% of the US population. Gain friends, get dates, ace your next interview all with what you now know. If you still need more: The holes replaced the indentations that Hubell had originally used in early outlets to hold the plug in position 1:00 - what they became later is explained further in the video.
The UK one doesn't
I always thought those holes were a manufacturing thing. My company molds connectors and we have some electrical contacts with holes like these. They are inserted into the mold tooling and a pin is dropped into the mold and through the holes. This secures the pins in place and keeps them from sliding back during the molding process since there is a lot of pressure inside the mold cavity that wants to blow the cable out, resulting in short contacts. But these particular plugs are often molded in low-pressure machines, so sliding contacts isn't really that big of an issue. I still wouldn't be surprised if some manufacturers use the pin method since it's a quick and easy way to eliminate a mode of failure which reduces scrap.
I use them to hook wires and give power...sometimes, do not try at home :)
2:03 “someone using a device they’re not supposed to” :|
Because older homes still exist. I owned a home that was 100 years old. Super old wall sockets.
Or it is designed to still accommodate older homes?
100 holes will make another plug
Find some old outlets from the early 1900s and take those apart and see if they have an intent to grab the hole.
2:19 everyone seems to forget about WW1, why is that?
When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail; when you have a hole, people want to insert
2:03 VIBRATOR
No info provided. The holes are to reduce drag during insertion.
The holes replaced the indentations that Hubell had originally used in early outlets to hold the plug in position 1:00 - what they became later is explained further in the video. Hope this is helpful.
2:02 how cruel! She's going to be angry!
It must have been a poorly interpreted engineering proposal, right? Like it was supposed to indicate a bump from the inside to the outside to create a standardized kind of friction (instead of the offset lines along the length of the prong), and manufacturers just punched holes instead. Right? Or... What I wonder is if the design difference has a substantial effect on grip within the socket. I could have sworn I remember there being certain outlets from 30+ years ago that would lock or grip so tightly you'd risk yanking out the socket. Maybe the hole on the plug was supposed to match up with a bump on the outlet (which may or may not have been standardized in all aspects), which got phased out over time or never got adopted in the first place because...whatever...or people got sick of accidentally yanking out sockets and the fire risk wasn't worth it.
"The answer may shock you" yea duh it's because it's electrical.
Around here all the plugs use a cilinder shape like the one i assume its the GND in the american plugs.
Let's make a video that has a question, no answer, but we'll get views. Idiotic.
As someone from europe: they have holes?
Can you answer why one side is wider than the other?
When you overthink things
Yoy guys have holes in plugs??😮😲
2:03 A dildo?!?
So basically theres no reason well ok
If the answer is "easy," why did you waste 3minutes of nearly 4million people's lives? Thumbs down, jackass.
there is science behind them but #1 reason for simple easy testing with leads or wire hook #2 if you do winds or loops you can impact EMF loops can reduce winds increase #3 different metals may chemically react but these loops with a load helps to reduce corrosion.
btw the holes are used to lock into sockets/extension cords in some rather rare cases.
Europe: "nope"
The reason those holes are there is simple. They allow air to 'smooth in' the male plug into the socket. Less effort in pushing and pulling the plug. The guy that made this video is a simpleton.
They have holes cause they made so many back in the day, they are still using them connectors for plugs...