Why do sockets look sad instead of happy?

Post Reply New Topic

Why has almost every socket I've ever seen looked like it realized it was going to die in three seconds? Like it lost all hope after losing something dear? Or perhaps they're staring in horror at the beast who lives within? "What a monster," those coupled sockets seem to whisper, their mouths agape.

Pardon me, but why is this? Excuse my language, but what kind of i**** would make every socket look that way? Do they just want us to be saaaaaad?

I'd love to find the answer.

You're humanizing an inanimate object. Lot's of people do that. It's like they see some sort of familiarity with objects, like light switches ot brick patterns.

I seem to remember someone selling the cover plates that were painted so to emphasize the "socket faces" as faces. They were painted with bodies or something like that.

Pardon the pun but I always considered it to be more of a shocked look.

Socket to ya topic

Sock (shock) puppetry. Ed?

If someone were about to shove metal prongs into your eyes and mouth, would you be happy?

Hector: Good point, I suppose. But I do not believe that one advantage will win the argument for sad outlets. I have a few suggestions (see below).

I was thinking something along the lines of Deacon's explanation.

Call me crazy, but I'm beginning to wonder if the 'double-sad-face look' contributes along with other cultural memes to trigger aggressive thoughts and feelings by auto-suggestion. For example, when I've seen boyfriends and girlfriends together, I've often felt pain instead of being happy for them -- why is that? Could it be that I was subconsciously remembering plug outlets (along with a host of other memetic devices) and feeling that they were already scared of me before my aggressive feelings were even triggered? You have to wonder.

Why don't we do an upside-down plug look where the middle hole is on top and doesn't look like a smile or a frown?

Or put the middle hole in between the two prong slits?

Or put the hole on the left or right side of the outlet?

Anything but two frowny faces! What were they thinking?

do you know how many different kinds of sockets there are out there? I used to have to support laptops for a worldwide company, and we used to hand out bags of adapters... We had a few for Europe, Asia was different, and naturally the Israelis and Palestinians had different (and naturally incompatible) sockets...

I bet there's some happy ones out there...Google 'em sometime...

Oh, you know what I bet they have?

Colic.

If they put them upside down, undoubtably someone named MikeH107 would be posting "Why are sockets upside down faces?"

In other words MikeH106, I think you are reading too much into it. They have to look like something, and humans will always anthropomorphise things.

Too much into it? I hate the way they look!

I bet it's just another Machiavellian scheme to oppress the lower classes and torture ugly people.

I always thought they had a SHOCKED look to them...

denmark has happy sockets!

told ya'...

Some may be sad because they may hurt you because they are in the wall wrong side up. That is...if the metal wall plate is loose and drops down on the plug prongs it can be electrified. If the socket is turned around it will only contact the ground.