Originally Posted by Faiakes 
It would be nice if we followed the european plug and save ourselves the hussle and the environment a bit (given manufacturers wouldn't have to make an additional cable).
Trouble with the Euro plugs is that they have two sorts- earthed and non-earthed. Because the earth pin is in the
socket, you end up with the ludicrous state of affairs that you can plug an appliance that requires an earth into an unearthed socket, but not vice versa.
