apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

But awfully easy for a three-year old to pull. This is a great device for the home of a senior citizen.

Douglas, Of course this isn't a design for everyone. Good design meets the needs of users. Not necessarily all users.

Why the hell would a three-year-old be that close to an plug in the first place? A three-year-old can easily pull out a standard plug anyway.

An electrical cord is most dangerous to a child when it's part-way pulled out, is it not? One could argue that if the standard plug can easily be partially unplugged but not quite all the way, then it would be more dangerous than one that a child could yank out of the wall in one fell swoop.

But I could be overanalyzing this.

wtf: 3-year-olds go everywhere -- except spaces so tight they could only manage it when they were two.
Douglas: I'd rather have a toddler pull out a plug safely and quckly than work at it with tiny fingers from the outside -- zap!

Once they get zapped a couple times, they stop messing with'em, (before 3 if they're smart).

Thankfully Apple removed the hard reset button from the front of their machines.... ( unsaved work hilarity ensues )

Hardly inovative. In the UK IBM golf ball typewriters came equipped with a UK 3 pin plug version 25 years ago.

Mmmmm...apart from making it in a trendy colour this seems to be just the kind of 'innovative design' that has been available to buy in the UK for at least the last 15 years. Do none of you people actually go shopping?

Visually, it makes you want to unplug it, but not plug it in. So it's more of an unplugging device. But what bothers me is putting your finger in the whole which is circled by electric wires. I know there isn't any danger, but it just doesn't make me want to put my finger in it. But of course, product design nowadays is all about making quirky translucent blue variants of all perfectly functional and universal objects, instead of inventing new things or improving old ones.

I hate to sound like a huge capitalist, Sleet and Art.. I have been shopping for supplies for quite awhile for our home recently (Computers, lights, etc...) and I do not see them. Where is that ingenious UK advertising? If they have had over 20 (Just splitting the difference between the two posts) it should have filtered over to here with even the slightest of marketing!!!

Just what I needed -- plugs that will stick out even further from the wall! I suspect the answer to "why didn't we think of that" is "because it creates a problem to solve".

But then, at home I have a generic (Home Depot, probably) white extension cord whose plug is about 5mm deep, for use when furniture goes in front of the plug. There's a little handle on the plug that you can flip out to pull the plug straight out, and the cord comes out of the plug 45 degrees off vertical, so it heads toward the floor without getting in the way of the socket below -- and all that for about the same price as a generic cord. *That's* innovation.

The prongs will bend, bet on it. Looks cool...but a failure ultimatly.

finally, that is pretty smart, why have they not been implemented years ago???

mendel - good point, i have those also, they are great. For the most part, anything molded plugged into a powerstrip could use a little ring to help with the pull.

As for the kid, they wil likely bite and chew on it.

Actually, this could be awesome for little kids. If you have problems with a little troublemaker yanking cords appart, just zip-tie the plug and socket together.

Sho de bola...

tizroc - I have them all over my house. I live in a small town and even my local Boots and Woolworths have them.

Great post. Really liked it.