Two Rights Make a Wrong: Powerstrip orientations...

Reader Josh Shields sent this one in, and it's a great example of good intentions gone bad. At first, most powerstrips had the sockets oriented as shown at top, and most power adapters (AKA "wall warts") had plugs oriented in, well, the worst way possible for those power strips. The problem is that each party seemed to go off and independently solve the problem: they each rotated their sockets and plugs 90 degrees. The result is the situation shown on the bottom - back to square one! Of course, there's a mix of old and new powerstrips and power adapters to be had out there, so it's possible that you'll get lucky and have a properly mismatched pair. But this is a case where some good design, cooperation, and even standardization could help! In the meantime, here are a couple of solutions: the PowerSquid, and rotating power outlets. Thanks, Josh!