Tachion vs 2-bladed plugs
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:35 am
A reader wrote:
I am Interested in the history of interconnecting light strings. I know it predates the 2 blade plug we use today but I need details.
Did it start with a Edison socket? What sort of plugs and receptacles were used? When did they first move to the two flat blade plug we know today?
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The first Christmas light strands ended in a connection meant to screw into a light bulb socket. Back in the early days, nobody had outlets in the walls - the only electricity was a single light bulb fixture in the middle of the ceiling. The light strand would screw into that, sometimes with a separate light bulb socket so you could still have room lighting.
To find out when the two-pronged plugs came into being, you'd have to research when wall outlets started being installed. Here's something interesting. When home wiring was still knob-and-tube, most outlets were wired backwards from the way they are wired today. And ceiling lights, as often as not were wired so that the fixture was still "hot" when the switch was turned off - all the switch did was sever the connection to "ground." More than one owner of an older home learned that the hard way.
Sorry I can't be more help about the lightbulb-socket versus 2-pronged plug question, but I think the answer lies in home wiring advances, not specifically in Christmas strands.
I am Interested in the history of interconnecting light strings. I know it predates the 2 blade plug we use today but I need details.
Did it start with a Edison socket? What sort of plugs and receptacles were used? When did they first move to the two flat blade plug we know today?
------------------------------------------------------
The first Christmas light strands ended in a connection meant to screw into a light bulb socket. Back in the early days, nobody had outlets in the walls - the only electricity was a single light bulb fixture in the middle of the ceiling. The light strand would screw into that, sometimes with a separate light bulb socket so you could still have room lighting.
To find out when the two-pronged plugs came into being, you'd have to research when wall outlets started being installed. Here's something interesting. When home wiring was still knob-and-tube, most outlets were wired backwards from the way they are wired today. And ceiling lights, as often as not were wired so that the fixture was still "hot" when the switch was turned off - all the switch did was sever the connection to "ground." More than one owner of an older home learned that the hard way.
Sorry I can't be more help about the lightbulb-socket versus 2-pronged plug question, but I think the answer lies in home wiring advances, not specifically in Christmas strands.