We often reproach Americans for supposedly knowing nothing about World War II, for thinking they “won it,” when without the Soviet Union Hitler wouldn’t have been defeated. Of course, that’s all true. But it’s just as true that we ourselves know very little about their side of the war.
What can most of us name off the top of our heads? The Normandy landings (which have been chewed over from every angle in movies and in dozens of games)… and then the meeting on the Elbe. Oh right — we might have heard something about Pearl Harbor, and that they fought the Japanese a little bit over there, and that the evil Americans dropped two nuclear bombs, and that was that.
As executive producers, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg decided to tell more of the war through American eyes. First, in 2001, they released Band of Brothers about combat in Europe. And nine years later, in 2010, they followed with The Pacific about a part of the war we barely know at all — because the Soviet Union didn’t take part in it, and so it simply wasn’t something people talked about. (And I very much recommend both series if you haven’t seen them.)
I’m currently reading the book The Design of Everyday Things, where the author touches on the topic of cultural differences that influence our perception of objects and our experience interacting with them. In my work, I’ve had the opportunity to travel extensively in recent years, and I’ve personally experienced many of these differences. The subject is broad, so today I’ll focus on a few specific aspects.
To start, many of us know that different countries have right-hand and left-hand driving. I’ve already mentioned my experience driving in Cyprus, which was interesting for someone used to driving on the other side of the road. Even now, I still occasionally look in the wrong direction when crossing the street, and the bus doors being on the opposite side still catch me off guard.
But today, I want to talk about electricity and household switches. You’d think there wouldn’t be much variation here—after all, there’s “on” and there’s “off.” How much could this change? Well, it turns out that how “on” and “off” is done can differ quite a bit.
First, let’s take a step back and talk about electricity in general. Those of us born in the USSR are used to two-pin sockets with 220V (Yes, there were industrial sockets too, but here I’m talking about household use.) Even modern European plugs, with their thicker prongs, appeared later in common use and caused some difficulty at first, as they wouldn’t fit in the smaller holes of older sockets.
However, the diversity worldwide is much broader, and travelers who don’t think about it might find themselves surprised—ranging from “couldn’t charge my phone” to “completely fried it.” There are numerous types of electrical sockets used around the world, as highlighted in a post by Sergey Dolya:
The world doesn’t just have a variety of plugs and sockets, but also different voltages in outlets across countries. If you plug a European device that expects 220V into a 110V American socket, most of the time, the worst that happens is it won’t work. However, going the other way—connecting a 110V device to a 220V socket—can easily destroy the equipment if it’s not designed to handle multiple voltages. For instance, some of my American colleagues once burned out five (!) Xbox power adapters before realizing that the loud pop and smoke each time they plugged it in was not normal!
If you’re interested in the historical reasons behind this variety and how global standardization efforts have evolved, you can read more about it on Wikipedia.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to check if you’ll need a power adapter when traveling to a new country. In most large hotels, you can usually ask for one at the front desk.
Now, back to the topic of switches. I can immediately think of three types: European, British, and American. They all essentially do the same thing—they switch between two states: on and off. There are also more exotic dimmer switches, which allow you to control the light’s intensity, but let’s leave those out for now.
So, what are the differences?
British and American switches are fairly typical. Whether you’re in a hotel or an apartment, the switches tend to be consistent within the country. British switches tend to be small and angular, while American switches are often small levers. However, the functionality remains the same.
A typical American switchA typical British switch, here it’s a double one
Alright, to be fair, there are other options out there, but the ones I’ve described are the most common, which is why I refer to them as traditional.
At the same time, within the European group, there’s a huge variety of switch designs. It’s still possible to find switches similar to British ones. In fact, many of them were quite common in the USSR, just a little bigger in size. However, in the last few decades, the standard switch in Europe is typically a large button set in a square frame. Often, you’ll see two rectangular buttons in the same form factor. Manufacturers frequently play around with the colors and framing of these switches. On the other hand, I’ve noticed far less variety in American and British designs. Personally, I prefer European switches: they look more aesthetically pleasing and are more practical in everyday use. If your hands are full and you need to hit the switch with your shoulder or hip, European switches are larger, easier to hit, and have a softer action, requiring less effort to press.
Here’s an example of European switches from Legrand
But beyond light switches, there’s also a significant difference when it comes to power outlets. In European and American outlets, they are always live—plug in your device, and it starts working immediately. In British outlets, however, there’s always a switch that allows you to turn the outlet on or off. You can tell if it’s on by the red stripe at the top of the switch: if you see it, the outlet is on; if not, it’s off.
This difference fundamentally changes user behavior: if you need to disconnect a device from power, you don’t need to pull the plug out of the socket; you just flick the switch. This is probably a better approach overall since it reduces wear and tear on the plug, the socket, and the cord, minimizing the chances of damage. However, this feature never really caught on in the U.S. or most of Europe.
Two British power sockets with switches, showing the red markers at the top to indicate that the sockets are live (receiving current)
As you can see, even in something as simple and familiar as turning on lights or powering devices, different countries have gone down entirely different paths. Some countries have inherited their standards from others (for example, Cyprus uses British-style outlets, likely a remnant of British rule over the island).
There are actually quite a few such differences if you start paying attention to them. Feel free to share if you know of any more!
