[amluto]

To me that reads like an article written by someone trying really hard to defend the U.K. electrical system. UK receptacles and plugs have complex safety features mostly because the UK electrical system is awful. The UK (historically at least) used ring circuits that are fused too high such that an inappropriate resistive load that will not blow the fuse can still overheat the wiring. Hence more fuses than should be needed to partially mitigate the problem.

Modern US receptacles are “tamper resistant” and are required by code in places that kids can get to, and they have similar safety shutters. Unfortunately, many of them, especially the cheaper ones, suck and actively eject plugs.

The lack of insulation on US plugs to prevent shock when plugging and unplugging is a fair criticism. I suspect this is mostly because US prongs are thin and could become too weak if the metal were narrowed to make room for insulation.