Here is one of the first tricks my independent living specialist taught me: Put a finger on the little round hole below the 2 slots, place the prongs of the plug on that finger, then slide it up. The plug will go right into the outlet.

Yes. I went to the UK once. Their plugs are significantly better. We really should be using something like that

I’m in the UK so not a day to day issue for me. But when I was last in the US I had to get my sister to use all the plugs as it was hard to line them up

Could be worse. I got the polarity wrong with my laptop at Oxford and the whole building lost power.

No. Don’t touch the metal part and line up the plug with the outlet and push.

Oh they don’t look the safest. 😞

Blind electronics technician here. North american outlets and light sockets are a product of rigid individualism. Yes they're unsafe. So were lawn darts and how many ever children died, really? Don't answer that. lol

Seriously though, Being shocked by single phase doesn't carry a high risk of fatality unless you're standing in a puddle or holding onto ground with the other hand.

Outlets have shocked me more times than I can count, and they are definately not accessable for blind or sighted. I have tried using my finger in ground and more than once to line it up and ended up connecting with mr bizzot!. My advice is remember these three steps for safety.

Stop and think:

1. Can I move things away to get better access.
2. Can I keep my non dominant hand any further away? Maybe in my pocket or bracing on the drywall and not the metal desk or doorframe.
3. Can I be any less conductive as a path to ground? Stand on a cork yoga block, a plastic cutting board, or hard foam or ceramic brick.

Electricity is fun if you respect it.

Yes! I’ve already burned up a phone charger I tried to plug into a dark power strip.

Never ever been shocked and I find them like counting to 10 easy. Hahaha!

I am also very hands on and tinkery always have been. I didn’t know I was as hands on until I did some personality type stuff and looked around in the community. And it’s like oh? Well.. hahaha!


Use one hand and use flat fingers to feel the outlet don’t push your fingers in if you use a flat hand you can touch where it is, touch where the plug holes are and bring with your other hand the plug chord thingy. Line it up if you need to move the other hand slightly away. Don’t put the plug in but place it right outside of the. Hole. It won’t shock you. I’ve never been shocked. Adjust your hand or. Move the other out of the way and push in and there you go.

I'm in the U.S. I touch the pins and holes, lining things up as best I can, then push the plug home. It works. As long as I touch the pins to the very outside of the holes, or use the ground pin as a partial guide, I'm fine. I plug things in all the time, and was last shocked about twelve years ago. It can be painful to get used to, but you can get to a point where plugging things in isn't a problem. That said, I'm no rehab specialist, so don't follow my advice. Work with a trainer who can show you the tricks to do this safely.

In my country we use c/f type outlets. The holes are very small, so it's almost impossible to get electrocuted. At least it has never happened to me.

Nope, outlets have always been relatively easy for me. In the US, and just touch the edge of the outlet plate and usually you can judge about how far you need to go in from the edge, to where there's an equal distance on each side. With power strips, just learn the power strip and know how far apart the plugs are away from each other.