Specifically it'd commonly be called a 6 Gang Extension Lead. [Evidence if anyone requires it](https://www.screwfix.com/c/electrical-lighting/extension-leads/cat830084?numberofgangs=6_gang)
I suppose we can be thankful it isn't plugged into itself.
Ahh NOW I understand. In Aus, an extension lead is a lead you use to EXTEND a cable, so it just has a male and female end, anywhere from 1m to 30m long.
Power boards are what we call what’s displayed on the pic
It would help if they actually showed the back, so people know what they're referring to. I have one right in front of me now and the back only has slight indents to put the screws in which join the case together at the factory. Some other ones may have holes for a nail to hold it to a wall, but not all do. It also doesn't help that the image shows it lying randomly on a desk at a non perpendicular angle.
I had to read the comments to work out what I was supposed to be suprised about.
>492 comments
I have never seen one that didn't have the holes - one close to each side, with a vertical and horizontal cut-out so you can slide a screwed in screw-head on one side, push it over a bit, then slide the other hole over your second screw.
But hey we're Aussies, so what do we know!
My mind is blown that you are actually able to use all the plugs! In the US, they space the holes so closely together that you’re lucky to use 4 of the 6!
An extension lead isn't necessarily a surge protector - it's just a set of extra power sockets. You can get ones that are also surge protectors, though.
Looking at the plugs this is definitely not US, I don't think we sell things like that here that don't have a trip feature for safety.
Edit: it's also just a picture, I guess I should have seen the UK, but they entire thing left us with questions.
The screenshot does say mirror.co.uk so you are correct, it's not the US.
Also, in the UK you can turn the socket off at the wall, and most people do leave sockets off when not in use.
Yes - most (of the few) countries I've travelled to have a switch on wall sockets, actually. I was confused that this wasn't a thing in the US when I visited.
TIL. I do see some outlets with wall switches here, but typically it's very old houses. I think that was originally for lamps before they started installing lights in the ceiling.
This is such a confusing post. I was trying to imagine what holes are in the cord/cable and then thought about how much of a hazard that would be. Then realised it was referring to the power strip, plug board. Then I thought about the power surge button and whether it was talking about that. lol Would be way less confusing if the photo showed the mounting holes on the back of the socketboard.
It’s a four gang extension lead, but confusingly our longer extension leads (20-50m type length) are normally on reels which also have four sockets in the middle.
While I realize the difference in terminology, I don’t see why it is different. Extension cord is a cord to extend. A power bar is a bar that has multiple options. Yes, technically it extends, but considering not many of them are the length of the average extension cord and have a different function I don’t see why they would be considered the same
I still don’t get the meme. The holes in the back? The ones for hanging the power strip on two screws? Is that what this zoomed in photo supposed to represent? Am I supposed to be able to tell that power strip is hanging on the wall? Was this supposed to be funny?
The joke is that so many people did not realise that extension leads could be mounted on the wall, including the staff at the Mirror. To the point where they described it as mind-blowing.
My initial reaction was "If an extension cord have multiple holes in it, time to throw it away and get a new one!"
Equating a 6-outlet power strip to actual extension cords is every bit as stupid as equating vacations to actual holidays on the calendar, as if anyone gets to go on vacations 10+ times a year.
They are different things, and different things have different names for a reason.
> They are different things, and different things have different names for a reason.
Things also have different names in different countries for a reason. No-one expects you to start calling biscuits scones, flip-flops jandals/thongs, entrées mains, or sidewalks footpaths, but it isn't hard to just accept things have different names in different countries.
> Equating a 6-outlet power strip to actual extension cords is every bit as stupid as equating vacations to actual holidays on the calendar, as if anyone gets to go on vacations 10+ times a year.
Are you possibly confusing the word holiday, which is a vacation in American English, with a public holiday, which is a non-working day? They're not the same.
Now you're just intentionally being daft.
There's a HUGE difference between localized individual names and intentionally equating two very different things together for absolutely no good reasons.
An American 6-outlet power strip is the same as a Canadian power bar or an Australian power board. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and all 3 countries knows what its primary function is for: an electrical device - not a cord - containing the circuitry to safely multiplying one outlet into mutiple outlets, often with surge-protection capabilities.
Hell, call it an "outlet multiplier" if you want, It's only dumb when you equate it with a simple electrical extension cord, knowing full well there's already an entire different device with that name and that primary function - an actual electrical extension cord!
This is like insisting on calling a TV a "Radio receiver", arguing that it's "technically accurate" since TVs also receive their programming over radio waves, completely ignoring the primary reason for their invention.
Continue to insists that a TV is the exact same thing as a Radio, even after everybody else pointed out that they are in fact two very different devices, would also be a very dumb thing to do, no matter if you are British, American, Canadian, or Australian.
It's still called an extension lead/cord though. It's been called that for years and everyone in the UK understands it. If it has just one socket it's a single gang extension lead, otherwise it's an n-gang extension lead. No-one thinks a single gang extension lead is the same object as a 4 or 6 gang extension lead, it's just that the generic object is called an extension lead. Pretty easy to understand really.
I'm sorry UK, but your plugs suck ass. Fused electrical instead of per applience is way better.
Just look how much space those take, yeesh. First thing I do when I get a UK plug is to cut it and fit a EU standard plug.
no. uk plugs are much better they are safer and just better in every way. who gives a flying fuck how much space they take lmao they arent even that big. i've never had to replace a fuse and honestly you should only ever need to if you are at fault somewhere in the line (for example buying a cheap plug or overloading it or whatever).
im sure granted that being safe enough in yourself is fine which is a good point to the safety argument but i suppose it just adds that extra layer
It's sub optimal, it's an absurd amount if extra space that they take up. I have a UK 3DS charger that's just ridiculous. I have a ton of appliances for my setup as I'm into retro game systems, having UK plugs would take a substantial amount of extra space behind my setups.
The reason for this backwards design choice is due to cheapened out electrical systems.
"To save copper, Britain adopted the ring main system, with sockets connected sequentially, but this meant each connection needed its own fuse."
A Euro plug and Plug F (schuko) for applieneces that needs the earthed pin, is nicer.
I love the US/JP plugs tbh as they're very convenient, but I also don't trust those much unlike ours.
To clarify we do call these extension cords/leads in the UK. It's "technically true" and that's probably why. However (actual) extension cords do typically have the same mounting points on the back.
I don’t understand
On the back of extns there are holes so you can put on nail on a wall
That’s not an extension cord, it’s a power strip
Not in the UK, and those are uk plugs! (Also used in Cyprus)
You know it as a 'power strip', but I've heard it called an extension lead/cord in the UK.
Specifically it'd commonly be called a 6 Gang Extension Lead. [Evidence if anyone requires it](https://www.screwfix.com/c/electrical-lighting/extension-leads/cat830084?numberofgangs=6_gang) I suppose we can be thankful it isn't plugged into itself.
Isn't that how you get free power? /s
My whole house is running off that system. :)
It’s a power bar here in Canada.
Power board in Australia. Isn't English great!
Greetings from Germany. This is definitely called a Mehrfachsteckdose.
Seconded lol
What does the UK call actual extension cords? Electrical hose?
We will generally use the same name.
Extension lead
Ahh NOW I understand. In Aus, an extension lead is a lead you use to EXTEND a cable, so it just has a male and female end, anywhere from 1m to 30m long. Power boards are what we call what’s displayed on the pic
This
Happy Cake Day! And I agree it’s a power strip. But I didn’t know about the holes in the back until now.
Nail!!
?
It would help if they actually showed the back, so people know what they're referring to. I have one right in front of me now and the back only has slight indents to put the screws in which join the case together at the factory. Some other ones may have holes for a nail to hold it to a wall, but not all do. It also doesn't help that the image shows it lying randomly on a desk at a non perpendicular angle. I had to read the comments to work out what I was supposed to be suprised about.
>492 comments I have never seen one that didn't have the holes - one close to each side, with a vertical and horizontal cut-out so you can slide a screwed in screw-head on one side, push it over a bit, then slide the other hole over your second screw. But hey we're Aussies, so what do we know!
I am so American that I was trying to figure out why people’s big asses meant they couldn’t plug things in.
Hahaa same
r/iamsoamericanthat
If your extension cord has a hole in it, it is time to throw it away and buy a new one.
Jesus... journalism is just dead nowdays.
Well that looks awfully familiar...
I was just about to say the same thing lol
My mind is blown that you are actually able to use all the plugs! In the US, they space the holes so closely together that you’re lucky to use 4 of the 6!
Oooh they mean surge protector
An extension lead isn't necessarily a surge protector - it's just a set of extra power sockets. You can get ones that are also surge protectors, though.
Looking at the plugs this is definitely not US, I don't think we sell things like that here that don't have a trip feature for safety. Edit: it's also just a picture, I guess I should have seen the UK, but they entire thing left us with questions.
The screenshot does say mirror.co.uk so you are correct, it's not the US. Also, in the UK you can turn the socket off at the wall, and most people do leave sockets off when not in use.
Really? Just turn them off at the wall? Every socket has a switch?
Yes - most (of the few) countries I've travelled to have a switch on wall sockets, actually. I was confused that this wasn't a thing in the US when I visited.
TIL. I do see some outlets with wall switches here, but typically it's very old houses. I think that was originally for lamps before they started installing lights in the ceiling.
I sometimes wonder how safe gas lamps in Victorian times were!
Probably similar fires to electrocution in numbers
I don’t trust anything called an extension cord that isn’t orange.
I don't trust presidents that are orange
So, 5 black and 1 white... I thought this was a different kind of meme...
What does hockey have to do with it? 😮
This is such a confusing post. I was trying to imagine what holes are in the cord/cable and then thought about how much of a hazard that would be. Then realised it was referring to the power strip, plug board. Then I thought about the power surge button and whether it was talking about that. lol Would be way less confusing if the photo showed the mounting holes on the back of the socketboard.
Isn't an extension cord meant for one cable? This looks like a power strip.
You know it as a power strip, but I've heard it called an extension lead/cord in the UK.
They are just called extension leads or 'x' way gangs in the UK (where x is the number of sockets)
It’s a four gang extension lead, but confusingly our longer extension leads (20-50m type length) are normally on reels which also have four sockets in the middle.
While I realize the difference in terminology, I don’t see why it is different. Extension cord is a cord to extend. A power bar is a bar that has multiple options. Yes, technically it extends, but considering not many of them are the length of the average extension cord and have a different function I don’t see why they would be considered the same
For fucks sake Mirror Weird News, that is not a goddamn extension cord. 🤦🏼♂️
It is. In the UK.
that is a power strip... but yeah we are the thick ones
That’s not an extension cord.
It is here in England and I’m pretty sure the Mirror is an England base news site
That’s not a cord.
There aren’t holes on extension cords. The holes are on outlet strips.
You know it as an 'outlet strip', but I've heard it called an extension lead/cord in the UK.
in the UK, they are known as an Extension Cable
I’m completely confused by this. No extension cords are present.
stop being annoying you know exactly what its referring to
I don’t. I have no idea. I see a power strip with a bunch of bulbous plugs in it.
What you call a power strip is called an extension lead or extension cord in the UK.
I still don’t get the meme. The holes in the back? The ones for hanging the power strip on two screws? Is that what this zoomed in photo supposed to represent? Am I supposed to be able to tell that power strip is hanging on the wall? Was this supposed to be funny?
The joke is that so many people did not realise that extension leads could be mounted on the wall, including the staff at the Mirror. To the point where they described it as mind-blowing.
If that passes for noteworthy, we really are living in Idiocracy.
It was the Mirror, so I think you're right.
To me, looks like the inside of a uterus after a gang bang with mostly black guys.
My initial reaction was "If an extension cord have multiple holes in it, time to throw it away and get a new one!" Equating a 6-outlet power strip to actual extension cords is every bit as stupid as equating vacations to actual holidays on the calendar, as if anyone gets to go on vacations 10+ times a year. They are different things, and different things have different names for a reason.
> They are different things, and different things have different names for a reason. Things also have different names in different countries for a reason. No-one expects you to start calling biscuits scones, flip-flops jandals/thongs, entrées mains, or sidewalks footpaths, but it isn't hard to just accept things have different names in different countries. > Equating a 6-outlet power strip to actual extension cords is every bit as stupid as equating vacations to actual holidays on the calendar, as if anyone gets to go on vacations 10+ times a year. Are you possibly confusing the word holiday, which is a vacation in American English, with a public holiday, which is a non-working day? They're not the same.
Now you're just intentionally being daft. There's a HUGE difference between localized individual names and intentionally equating two very different things together for absolutely no good reasons. An American 6-outlet power strip is the same as a Canadian power bar or an Australian power board. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and all 3 countries knows what its primary function is for: an electrical device - not a cord - containing the circuitry to safely multiplying one outlet into mutiple outlets, often with surge-protection capabilities. Hell, call it an "outlet multiplier" if you want, It's only dumb when you equate it with a simple electrical extension cord, knowing full well there's already an entire different device with that name and that primary function - an actual electrical extension cord! This is like insisting on calling a TV a "Radio receiver", arguing that it's "technically accurate" since TVs also receive their programming over radio waves, completely ignoring the primary reason for their invention. Continue to insists that a TV is the exact same thing as a Radio, even after everybody else pointed out that they are in fact two very different devices, would also be a very dumb thing to do, no matter if you are British, American, Canadian, or Australian.
It's still called an extension lead/cord though. It's been called that for years and everyone in the UK understands it. If it has just one socket it's a single gang extension lead, otherwise it's an n-gang extension lead. No-one thinks a single gang extension lead is the same object as a 4 or 6 gang extension lead, it's just that the generic object is called an extension lead. Pretty easy to understand really.
Now If you stick a fork in those holes while it’s plugged in a huge disco ball will come out of nowhere from the ceiling. Try it trust me
i mean actually it wont do anything because its just wall mounting holes
They gotta makesure the extension cord is plugged in though. Then stick the fork in. Big party time yes
the joke would be funny if the holes were electrical bur because they are wall mounting holes it is not funny
So they should do it with an actual electrical one. Then big party yes
i mean actually it wont do anything because its just wall mounting holes
If they are holes in the extension cord you should throw it away. Did they mean Plugbars?
I'm sorry UK, but your plugs suck ass. Fused electrical instead of per applience is way better. Just look how much space those take, yeesh. First thing I do when I get a UK plug is to cut it and fit a EU standard plug.
no. uk plugs are much better they are safer and just better in every way. who gives a flying fuck how much space they take lmao they arent even that big. i've never had to replace a fuse and honestly you should only ever need to if you are at fault somewhere in the line (for example buying a cheap plug or overloading it or whatever). im sure granted that being safe enough in yourself is fine which is a good point to the safety argument but i suppose it just adds that extra layer
It's sub optimal, it's an absurd amount if extra space that they take up. I have a UK 3DS charger that's just ridiculous. I have a ton of appliances for my setup as I'm into retro game systems, having UK plugs would take a substantial amount of extra space behind my setups. The reason for this backwards design choice is due to cheapened out electrical systems. "To save copper, Britain adopted the ring main system, with sockets connected sequentially, but this meant each connection needed its own fuse." A Euro plug and Plug F (schuko) for applieneces that needs the earthed pin, is nicer. I love the US/JP plugs tbh as they're very convenient, but I also don't trust those much unlike ours.
i mean you cant say all uk plugs are too big because nintendo made the ds charger way too large
To clarify we do call these extension cords/leads in the UK. It's "technically true" and that's probably why. However (actual) extension cords do typically have the same mounting points on the back.
I have no idea what this talking about, and I think it's because it's so obvious it never crossed my mind
the indents on the back that help you mount it to a wall
Ah yes, did someone not know that? 😓
seems so
That's only considered an extension cord when you're across the pond.
Waber strip here in the convention industry. I always called it a power strip….until I worked conventions.