Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/15/dollhouse-doors-as-electrical.html
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i’d be more impressed if the outlets were oriented correctly. The ground is supposed to go up, so that if something conducive falls on an improperly inserted plug the ground connects first rather than the live/neutral prongs.
In flood prone southeast Texas (where I live), wall outlets have to be placed at least 18 inches above the floor. Doll house doors that far up would just be weird.
ETA: the doors in the article are pretty darn cute, though.
clever. But unusual.
Only one of my outlets is installed that way-- a GFI outlet, for what it’s worth.
This site says that in Canada, the ground is usually up, while in the US, the ground is usually down. (I live in Trumpland)
Two tiny, square-faced ghosts live in my skirting board.
You know, for kids!
That’s the real problem, isn’t it. Who would be most interested and how would they react. Any small child would be likely to make a bee-line for them, open them up and then see what happens when you stick your tiny fingers in those funny holes (though to be fair, that can also happen with a non-disguised outlet.)
Very cute, but I wonder what happens the first time a vacuum cleaner cord pulls against an open dollhouse door…
Build a balcony to go with it. Problem solved!
I am reminded of an old Victorian house that one of my mom’s friends lived in that had little mantlepieces around the heating vents. I guess because both are adding fancy to utilitarian features.
That’s where you put the tiny pieces of mail.
It’s neat art, but from any practical point of view, the next person who vacuum’s is going to rip that door off it’s hinges when the cord hangs up.
What’s the problem? S/he locked the door and hid the key under the mat!
One of the surest bets on the internet is that any article about electrical plugs will have someone jump in to point this out. Yet nobody has ever died this way, virtually no contractor ever installs plugs that way in a residential setting and it just doesn’t matter. Let it go and find joy in something other than seeking kudos for trivia.
I only bring it up because I’ve had to replace outlets after the live and neutral prongs were shorted (a metal-strand cat toy). Had the ground been up, it wouldn’t have shorted, and I wouldn’t have had to replace the outlet. And yes, it would be better if the North American outlet was closer to the European or Uk standard, where the prongs are insulated in such a way that bare metal isn’t exposed if the prongs are energized.
I used to install them with the ground oriented upward so the outlets didn’t look so much like a face to my then infant children. Pareidolia and all that.
It is true that there is no code in the US, but all the flat plug extension cords point this way. It they expected the ground to be up I would assume they would wire them the other way.
Cute, if somewhat impractical.
Also obligatory:
Danish outlet to the rescue.
We have a couple of 100-year old houses that have outlets in all kinds of weird places. Floor, baseboards, high on the wall, ceiling. At least the old knob-and-tube wiring has been updated