Asklemmy

Plus, the US one looks scared.

Even our outlets are terrified of how bad the plug design is.

UK are safest

Until you step on a plug...

You thought Lego was bad on bare feet? Hoo boy

The UK ones are only safe from an electric point of view. As stepping hazards for shoe-less feet they are only slightly less lethal than Lego bricks

UK's are hilariously over-engineered. Might as well have a puzzle mechanism on the back, to make sure you really meant to power that toaster.

Breakers in every socket are a neat idea, though. And power switches at the socket make a lot more sense than US homes where some wall switches control some sockets, somewhere. Good luck!

I'll just throw in one good thing for US outlets. The option of GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlets. I think it is required in bathrooms (or elsewhere 6 feet from water source), but you can probably install those anywhere you wish. It cuts off the power during a ground fault, which means that some current (more than regular leakage) is flowing to ground, perhaps through a human. It should cut off at just 5mA.
There's something similar in Europe, called RCD (Residual Current Device). It is the same thing, it's just that in US it's generally called GFCI and RCD in Europe. The difference with RCD is that it's not in the outlets, but the breaker box, and generally protects the whole home. But you can also wire GFCI to multiple outlets. The problem is, that trip ground fault current for RCD can be up to 30mA as opposed to GFCI's 5mA. And with 10mA and above, you may not be able to "let go" of the item shocking you, which isn't nice even if it won't yet kill you (probably).
Why is that? Leakage current. That could very well exceed 5mA when you have stuff like a desktop PC, fridge and other stuff connected, resulting in unwanted tripping while everything functions just fine. It also means that perhaps, one day, your fridge may save you by preloading the RCD as it wouldn't trip without it.

OK, now something negative about (some) EU plugs.

Type C:

This should only work for devices that don't require ground due to pin thickness. But you can still get it to make a terrible contact and hold it in. But perhaps you could even force it into some. I dislike this.

Type F:

Oh well. You can probably still force in older plugs that require ground pin yet don't have the contacts for type F sockets like modern plugs. It is also reversible which I hate. Sockets should be polarized. You shouldn't be allowed to just plug in the device other way around. If there is a switch, it definitely should disconnect live wire, not neutral leaving the device live but not functional. That's unsafe. I hate this.

Type E:

This is nice. I like it. It would also be cool if there was a fuse inside the plugs cough cough UK plugs.

I'm biased, from the UK. But it's pretty much the order I'd do it too. UK first, the round Europe ones only very slightly behind (maybe even on par, I have just a slight issue with the fact that polarity isn't assured).

Fuses should be required for any power strip that is not rated for 20 A (2.5mm² wires). At least where I live that's the highest current an outlet circuit can be rated for.
The power strips that cheap out and only put in 1.55mm²/16 A are stupid. For 20 A power strips though, fuses are redundant.

Modern European plugs are already plenty safe for "accidental" insertion, you have to push into both holes at the same time for the outlet to "unlatch".

I also like the outlets (like in the UK and probably other places) that won’t unlock the mains slots until there’s a ground pin in place.

That's... most places. Or better, they don't open unless you push in both prongs at the same time

That would eliminate a lot of fires caused by putting too much current through small wires.

The counterpoint to this would be: Why have the fuse in the plug (where the plug necessarily becomes bulkier and hence easier to break or harm someone by stepping on it, especially because the UK plug design means the points orient upwards on average) when you can have it in the device instead?

Moreover, why go the step of putting millions and millions of fuses into millions of millions of plugs instead of much fewer fuses on lines in homes? If you got to decree a fuse to stop overcurrent on the cable in the wall, put the fuse where you're trying to use it.

(I'm not against fuses in all plugs, I'm just saying it's easy to make counterarguments that it's both impractical and also the wrong solution to the problem)

We could but the amount of time that would take would be ludicrous, and that's if you can convince people to switch. People don't like change.

Hell, the switch to USB-C isn't even fully complete. Sure, Apple finally did it after the EU twisted their arm, but some companies still release products with micro USB. Idk if it's cheaper or what, but it's definitely annoying.

My answer for the question is obviously the UK standard.

Also knows as the caltrop plug because it the damn things always fall spikes up and hurt whoever is trying to move through a room in dim light.

The correct answer is of course SchuKo plugs / CEE 7/7. If you check plugs used in the world you notice it has a huge spread of compatible plugs, as it can fit SchuKo plugs of two types and Euro plugs of two types. It also has all security features, including a raised ground that connects the ground before the power can come into contact.

It's tough to truly pull favourites with power sockets - you just use what you got - but if I had to pick one that'll be decreed to be used worldwide, it'd be this one. For sure. Note how the 7/7 variant has a lot of interoperability with other existing plug variations, too. It can for example use the french outlet-ground-pin, not only the german-style clamps, all with the same plug. Outlets can be designed to be compatible with swiss plugs, IIRC. Danish ones I'm not sure about, though.

Getting shocked by 120v is a rite of passage as a child growing up in the US

“Just about every American has shocked themselves with it once”

Um, no.

Isn’t the UK plug like how it is because of the awful ring circuits in buildings built after the war? Otherwise could we have RCDs and overload protection at the switchboard?

As an Australian I’ll stand in solidarity with the UK on having switches for each power socket – immensely convenient.

I have no opinion on my country’s plug, it seems to work well and not grip loosely. But I’m open to being convinced that others are better.

I am convinced the Danish power socket contributes to national happiness.

I find the love for the UK plug fascinating, as to me it's one of the worst designed pug types:

• It's bulky. This makes small appliances annoying, plus it increases the chance the plug can be damaged/broken if it drops onto a hard surface.
• The plus is weighted opposite of the pins, meaning they become caltrops if dropped to the ground.
• Fuses in plugs are unnecessary in countries where standards for housing wiring exist. Plus, even if you want to improve that, why decree fuses in plugs instead of fuses in walls and power strips? The latter you have far less of, take the practical route and decree fuses to be where the problem is, not next to the problem.
• Even if for whatever reason every single device that'll be produced going forward needs to be fused (so this isn't about current in the strips or the wall lines, but about the devices), put the fuses in the devices. This prevents some mechanical problems in case the cable gets damaged (again, the fuse is part of the problematic circuit it's trying to fuse for, not away from it), but more importantly it removed the need for a very bulky plug.

It's important to keep in mind that UK plugs were a necessity (ring circuits without circuit fuses in homes due to a copper shortage), not a desired result. They are good for what they had to do, but in times where the limitation no longer stops you from using a better plug style, they aren't needed and just add bulk and complexity.

For example, when you step on them, the plugs hurt a lot more than a Lego brick.