Type A
Flat blade
attachment plug
Where found:
American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, China (without holes in blades and slightly shorter blades), Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Maldives, Mexico, Micronesia, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Niger, Okinawa, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U.S.& British), Yemen.
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NOTES ON TYPE A PLUGS/OUTLETS In the U.S. & Canada, two-blade plugs are often polarized, with one blade larger than the other. Most outlets are designed to handle these. The larger blade is the neutral side of the current. This is a safety feature intended so the plug can be inserted one way only to reduce the chance of accidental shock. If you try to plug a modern plug into an old-style receptacle for equal size blades, it won't go in unless you file down the larger blade to the older plug size. Outside the US, many countries with Type A use the old style plug, and a newer US plug with unequal pins might pose a problem. This can be bypassed using an adaptor (found in many travel kits) which converts the newer Type A plug to the older model with equal-sized blades. Be aware, though, that you might also be bypassing the protection that polarization provides. |
Type B
Flat blades with round grounding pin
Where found:
All of the above noted for Type A except Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Dominican Republic, Korea, Liberia, Maldives, Peru, St. Vincent, Tahiti, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen.
Also found in Azores, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago.