Why Do Different Countries Have Different Electrical Outlet Plugs?

GoGoGadgetMachE

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Why Do Different Countries Have Different Electrical Outlet Plugs? (snopes.com)


You find yourself in an airport or hotel room in another country, and you really need to charge your phone, camera or game system. But what is that strange-looking outlet? It has round holes! And there are two? Or three? What’s going on here? Why doesn’t this country use the same plugs that I use back home?

The short answer is that the systems that deliver electricity to homes around the world have been built by thousands of people over the last 140 years. And they’re not finished yet. Around the world, about 750 million people – one out of every 10 – still don’t have access to electricity. But for the 90% who do, there are 15 different types of domestic electrical outlet plugs in use around the globe.
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Electrical systems even within the US were built out over time and were never originally meant to interconnect. I work with passenger rail and since everything railroad is old, the northeast corridor service predates commercial US power standardization... which means it runs on 25 Hz AC! Fun stuff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak's_25_Hz_traction_power_system
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