# Grounded adapter for laptop

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grounded-adapter-for-laptop/420818>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 28, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grounded-adapter-for-laptop/420818 "2007-09-28T14:55:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Caractacus\_Pott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Caractacus\_Pott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caractacus_Pott)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grounded-adapter-for-laptop/420818/21 "2007-09-30T13:30:49Z")

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Just like GorillaMan’s adapter and the Japanese power bricks. The plot thickens!

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grounded-adapter-for-laptop/420818/22 "2007-09-30T13:53:05Z")

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[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man]  
Hmm, that’s odd. 😕 Wonder where the ground wire goes? Nowhere? :dubious:  
[/QUOTE]

Foil shield around the wires?

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**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grounded-adapter-for-laptop/420818/23 "2007-09-30T14:20:59Z")

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[QUOTE=Q.E.D.]  
Where is “here?” I’m not familiar with ??.  
[/QUOTE]

“Here” is a 1959-1962 built home in Kansas, for example, which has no grounding screws in **any** of the outlets. My entire subdivision was wired this way. This is not uncommon to see in homes of this era.

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grounded-adapter-for-laptop/420818/24 "2007-09-30T14:33:51Z")

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[QUOTE=Una Persson]  
“Here” is a 1959-1962 built home in Kansas, for example, which has no grounding screws in **any** of the outlets.  
[/QUOTE]

This is not a “grounding screw” I refer to, but rather the mounting screw for the cover plate, which was subverted for the purpose. Now, it’s possible (even likely) that the electrical boxes the outlets were installed in were not grounded at that time, but that’s a different matter.

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**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grounded-adapter-for-laptop/420818/25 "2007-09-30T16:22:15Z")

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[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man]  
Hmm, that’s odd. 😕 Wonder where the ground wire goes? Nowhere? :dubious:  
[/QUOTE]  
In the third picture you can see the slot that engages with the metal knob on the adapter. The insides of the rails of the slot are metal; that must be the ground wire contact.

The stubby adapter has a similar slot (not shown), but has no metal on the rails.

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