Description

CRWDDSTRIP is a modified and custom designed powerstrip that contains too many plug holes and spaces to allow for more than a single plug to fit. This design forces users to try and plug in their device and fail every time. This form of “Human Error” is common with people who use multiple devices and never have enough plugs to plug them all in. Power strips are often overloaded to the point where they become unsafe since they are drawing too much current that their available connection can handle.

Background

In April 2021, an apartment complex in Queens, New York caught on fire caused by an overloaded power strip resulting in injuries to 21 people including 16 firefighters. According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), over 3,300 home fires originate in extension cords and power strips each year, killing 50 people and injuring 270 more. A power strip can only draw so much electricity without getting overloaded and can only hold a finite amount of devices otherwise this limit will be breached. Too often, people try to crowd power strips, aiming to get as much power as possible from these limited interfaces, and ultimately causing fires and electrical shorts. This form of “human error” is another example of what happens when we try to push our technological infrastructure to its ultimate limits, making them unsafe for normal usage.

Photo of a power strip that shorted due to too many sources drawing power from it causing an overload.