When electricity first became popular appliances were wired directly into the power system - no plugs. As you can imagine this caused any decesion maker email list number of fires as the wires were quickly overloaded with gadgets that everyone couldn't do without. Then in 1904 Harvey decesion maker email list Hub bell invented the "Separable Attachment-Plug" which was the first screw-in light socket, turned on with a pull chain. This was followed by the first screw-in decesion maker email list electrical plug, which was screwed into the same socket as the light fixtures. Thanks to all these inventors we now have surge bars that regulate our power use even in the case of an electrical storm. So what's the problem? Anyone who travels decesion maker email list knows that these handy plugs are not standardized, nor is the level of power use the same. I first discovered this in a most dramatic way. I was in a hotel room in Thailand and decesion maker email list plugged in my battery charger loaded with batteries from Japan. The batteries literally popped out of the charger and flew across the room, totally fried and unusable. It would be OK if there were decesion maker email list only a few variations in power source and plug configurations. We could carry with us a small kit with the different plug types with chargers that would adapt to the local power settings. However, the international decesion maker email list situation is unbelievably complex and is not getting resolved by any international edict either. Here is what Harry Herman writing for "Gizmo" has to say about it. This situation started long ago with people not decesion maker email list realizing how the development of future international travel and communication would effect us all. Who in 1928 would take a new vacuum cleaner or a lamp with decesion maker email list them on a ship to Europe, for example?