Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[jfollows]

You are not alone... We had both of those in the 1970s and I hated the darned things.

I’ve got one today, although I only bought it as a backup in case the electric shower fails, I haven’t actually used it yet.

 

[PG]

Either they were refitted with Walsall plugs or it was done to ensure that they were correctly wired - following a case where a factory, I believe, turned out plugs with the Earth and Live wires reversed.

Simply because they wanted to ensure they were wired correctly and safe to use. Power Stations were a bit paranoid on that one.

Note: Knowing some of the electricians I’d have felt safer with the moulded plug

Thanks to you both, every days a school day

 

[AM9]

Simply because they wanted to ensure they were wired correctly and safe to use. Power Stations were a bit paranoid on that one.

Note: Knowing some of the electricians I’d have felt safer with the moulded plug

It wasn't just power stations. In the '60s and seventies when plugs started to be fitted (well before it was mandatory) there were plenty of low grade and in many cases dangerous plugs that were supplied. That is why where I worked, new plugs were fitted on receipt with anything that wasn't known to be of suitable quality. Certain high value instruments like HP and Tektronix usually came with ready made cable assemblies which were trusted, (although US cables had different colour codes on wires, black for line, white for neutral and green for ground).
Towards the eighties, there were IEC leads with moulded plugs, some of which had serious problems where poor termination of wires was hidden in the moulding. It wasn't until the early '90s that moulded plugs were mandated on any free-standing appliances.

 

[Ediswan]

t wasn't until the early '90s that moulded plugs were mandated on any free-standing appliances.

I'm feeliing pedantic. I know fitted plugs are required, but do they have to be moulded ?

 

[Railcar]

BBC studios at Television Centre were fitted with Dorman-Smith plugs and sockets in the 1960s and 1970s . The plug had a live pin that was a fuse. These were screwed into the body of the plug. If the pin became unscrewed and the plug was pulled from the socket, the live pin was left behind, with the live screw thread standing proud by about a quarter of an inch - lethal!

Also in use was what was known as the 'Chinese MK', a 13A design with each pin rotated through ninety degrees. This was to prevent that power socket being used for machines like floor polishers,etc.

 

[cool110]

Also in use was what was known as the 'Chinese MK', a 13A design with each pin rotated through ninety degrees. This was to prevent that power socket being used for machines like floor polishers,etc.

That was the Walsall gauge, the MK had a T shaped earth pin. There was also the Wandsworth with a round earth.

 

[Railcar]

Until pubs and clubs and theatre stages were re-wired with 13 amp sockets by the 1980s, roving musicians and bands carried with them those cunning gadgets which could be tweaked to adapt to round-pin 5A and 15A, and 13A. Move a platen to the correct position, hold the plug horizontally, and the correct pins would drop through. Twist the pins and they would lock into place.

 

[AM9]

I'm feeliing pedantic. I know fitted plugs are required, but do they have to be moulded ?

The legal requirement to supply domestic appliances with fitted plugs was established in 1992, in part to reduce inappropriate fuse sizes being fitted. The requirement to use a 'fitted plug' became law with the The Plugs and Sockets etc (Safety) Regulations 1994. You are correct that moulded plugs were not specifically mandated, but the law was framed at a time that for mass produced products, the design and manufacture of moulded plugs was the only way to compete. The power leads were often bought in with plugs attached. By then, the IEC standard plugs were also becoming the norm, especially for kettles and higher value electronics, e.g. HI-FI. For those, the complete leads were bought in at much lower costs than the price of 2m of cable and a wireable plug.

 

[Egg Centric]

The legal requirement to supply domestic appliances with fitted plugs was established in 1992, in part to reduce inappropriate fuse sizes being fitted. The requirement to use a 'fitted plug' became law with the The Plugs and Sockets etc (Safety) Regulations 1994. You are correct that moulded plugs were not specifically mandated, but the law was framed at a time that for mass produced products, the design and manufacture of moulded plugs was the only way to compete. The power leads were often bought in with plugs attached. By then, the IEC standard plugs were also becoming the norm, especially for kettles and higher value electronics, e.g. HI-FI. For those, the complete leads were bought in at much lower costs than the price of 2m of cable and a wireable plug.

Things must have adapted quickly. I was taught to fit a plug at school (90s/very early 00s) but while I've had to change a fuse in one a couple of times I've never had to wire one from scratch in real life. I'm guessing then that this was formalising something that was already mostly happening?

 

[dangie]

….. For those, the complete leads were bought in at much lower costs than the price of 2m of cable and a wireable plug.

That’s something the manufacturer’s have really cut down on (pun intended), the length of the mains lead

 

[jupiter]

Inspired by an earlier post:

People who mong things.

I've never managed to find a complete list of things you can mong so I crave the forum's indulgence, perhaps we can produce such a list?

So far I have established you can probably mong:

Fish
Iron
Cheese
Rumours
War
Scares

 

[D6130]

Inspired by an earlier post:

People who mong things.

I've never managed to find a complete list of things you can mong so I crave the forum's indulgence, perhaps we can produce such a list?

So far I have established you can probably mong:

Fish
Iron
Cheese
Rumours
War
Scares

Costermonger ?.....Don't ask me what it means though!

 

[Egg Centric]

Inspired by an earlier post:

People who mong things.

I've never managed to find a complete list of things you can mong so I crave the forum's indulgence, perhaps we can produce such a list?

So far I have established you can probably mong:

Fish
Iron
Cheese
Rumours
War
Scares

This is a good use for AI tbh:

Excellent start — you've stumbled into the wonderfully evocative world of "mongering", where someone peddles or promotes something (often unsavory, but not always). Here's a list of additional things you can "mong" — or that someone can be a monger of:

⚔️ Negative / Fear-based​

These are the most common in modern usage:

• Fearmongering – spreading fear deliberately.
• Hatred/Hatemongering – inciting hate.
• Doommongering – promoting overly pessimistic views.
• Gloommongering – similar, focused on despair.
• Lies/Liemongering – spreading falsehoods.
• Conspiracies – promoting conspiracy theories.
• Division/Divisiveness – stirring social conflict.

---

Commercial / Traditional​

These are more archaic or occupational:

• Costermonger – sells fruits/vegetables.
• Fishmonger – sells fish.
• Ironmonger – sells hardware or tools.
• Cheesemonger – sells cheese.
• Whoremonger – frequents or controls prostitutes.
• News/Rumourmonger – spreads gossip or news.

---

Psychological / Social​

• Scaremongering – spreading panic.
• Warmongering – advocating or instigating war.
• Slangmongering – coining/spreading slang (informal).
• Agemongering – using age to influence narratives (e.g., youth vs. age).
• Crisis-mongering – hyping or manufacturing crises.

---

More Inventive / Neologisms​

People also invent them for effect:

• Mongering outrage – inciting public anger.
• Virtuemongering – performatively showcasing one's virtue.
• Techmongering – hyping technology trends.
• Hope-mongering – (occasionally used positively!) spreading optimism.
• Trendmongering – manufacturing or overhyping trends.

 

[GordonT]

Inspired by an earlier post:

People who mong things.

I've never managed to find a complete list of things you can mong so I crave the forum's indulgence, perhaps we can produce such a list?

So far I have established you can probably mong:

Fish
Iron
Cheese
Rumours
War
Scares

Whore?

 

[Indigo Soup]

When folk made a great issue about "infusing" the tea, whatever that may have entailed....

Preferable to the modern habit of waving a teabag in the general direction of a mug of water that was once heated to something approaching boiling point!

And ideally required to have a nodding acquaintance of the significance of differently coloured wiring therein.

I learned how to wire a plug in high school. My wife, two years younger than me, did not - in the intervening period it seems to have been deemed unimportant.

I have actually had to use that knowledge on occasion, most recently when I needed to replace an oven. For some reason my flat in the time was wired such that the oven was connected through a 13A socket, rather than being hard-wired. Since ovens need to have the option of being hard-wired, they can still be sold without a fitted plug, so it was as simple as choosing one that only drew 13A and buying one separate.

It also amuses me how 'cut off the moulded plug' is treated by a decent number of people as synonymous with 'render an appliance unusable'. Including manufacturers, who sometimes insist upon it being done instead of returning a faulty device.

 

[lyndhurst25]

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. My dad decided to replace the moulded mains plug on a set of Christmas lights last year, as the cable was frayed nearby. He did a decent job of the wiring, tightened to cable clamp, etc. Trouble is that the “plug” that he replaced was in fact a 240V to 12V adapter. The lights worked, very brightly, for a fraction of a second, before they went pop. We had to buy some new Christmas lights after that.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Costermonger ?.....Don't ask me what it means though!

Seller of apples from a handcart, apparently, in particular the once widely-available Costard apple variety, and fruit and veg generally.

 

[John Webb]

......It also amuses me how 'cut off the moulded plug' is treated by a decent number of people as synonymous with 'render an appliance unusable'. Including manufacturers, who sometimes insist upon it being done instead of returning a faulty device.

If I have a faulty appliance and can't repair it, I completely remove the mains cable, or at least cut it off where it enters the equipment. Then cut off the plug as well and remove the fuse.
If the moulded plug is at fault, once replaced I damage the faulty plug to render it completely useless!

 

[stuartl]

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. My dad decided to replace the moulded mains plug on a set of Christmas lights last year, as the cable was frayed nearby. He did a decent job of the wiring, tightened to cable clamp, etc. Trouble is that the “plug” that he replaced was in fact a 240V to 12V adapter. The lights worked, very brightly, for a fraction of a second, before they went pop. We had to buy some new Christmas lights after that.

Yes, I had a similar occurence when I was repairng BBC B computers. The supply to the external disc drive was 12v and 5 v but used standard mains cable. The connections to the computer regularly came loose and we repaired hundreds of them. Of course one day a teacher decided to do it themselves, connected a 13A plug and plugged it in. Loud bang, drive damaged beyond economical repair. Very expensive mistake.

 

[AM9]

I had given to me a very old (pre-WW2) radio. It was in a bakelite case, had an aluminium chassis with octal valves on it and there was a small paxolin panel at the rear with several banana plug sockets to connect aerial and ground wires, a 'pick-up' input (i.e. gramaphone), and an external speaker. It had quite good LW/MW & SW reception with all those far away places printed on the graticule. When I tried to put a ground wire plug into it there was a flash and the fuse blew. On inspection, I could see that the radio had an unpolarised mains lead, (i.e. a black figure of eight twin cable) and no mains transformer so a live chassis. I think I was about 8 when this happened, but I knew what a live chassis was, and thought just what could have happened, - the house had Dorman-Smith plugs/sockets so all fused for 13A. I fixed the wiring (using a neon screwdriver to check the connection) because it was a good radio, and I didn't want it to have been taken away.
... and yes, I was the only one in the house who new that you never change the fuse in a neon screwdriver!

 

[Railcar]

In the 1960s, cartoonists would satirise pop stars playing 'electric guitars', with the guitar lead going into a mains socket. How many guitars were wrecked by their owners following this example?

 

[D6130]

In the 1960s, cartoonists would satirise pop stars playing 'electric guitars', with the guitar lead going into a mains socket. How many guitars were wrecked by their owners following this example?

....not to mention how many rock stars were electrocuted!

 

[dangie]

....not to mention how many rock stars were electrocuted!

The reason many rockstars were idolised, is because they may be dead next week

 

[GordonT]

Tangentially connected to the electrics discussions. The dumpy Mateus wine bottles sometimes converted into table lamps back in the 1970s.

 

[simonw]

Tangentially connected to the electrics discussions. The dumpy Mateus wine bottles sometimes converted into table lamps back in the 1970s.

Still available. Tastes better in Portugal than over here.

 

[Lloyds siding]

....not to mention how many rock stars were electrocuted!

Those that died: Keith Relf, Les Harvey. many others less famous.
Famous performers that survived being electrocuted: Keith Richard, Greg Lake, Ace Frehley, Gary Thain, Nick Lowe, Deke Leonard, Dave Grohl, and many, many others less famous. Now, the risk is almost completely eliminated by circuit breakers.

 

[Bald Rick]

Still available. Tastes better in Portugal than over here.

Yes, someone near me has a Mateus drink problem, as I pick up an empty bottles of same thrown in to thr hedge alomg a local country lane about once a month.

 

[43096]

Those that died: Keith Relf, Les Harvey. many others less famous.
Famous performers that survived being electrocuted: Keith Richard, Greg Lake, Ace Frehley, Gary Thain, Nick Lowe, Deke Leonard, Dave Grohl, and many, many others less famous. Now, the risk is almost completely eliminated by circuit breakers.

It would seem that was more common for guitarists than a bizarre gardening accident accounting for drummers.

 

[GusB]

If we're talking about "wines", surely Le Piat D'or needs a mention.

 

[PG]

On inspection, I could see that the radio had an unpolarised mains lead, (i.e. a black figure of eight twin cable) and no mains transformer so a live chassis.

Mention of live chassis reminds me of Cathode Ray Tube televisions - I recall being advised to check the wiring in the plug in case someone had interposed live and neutral, which would render the aerial socket live.