The Power Strip Has Six Outlets. The Plugs Disagree.

A six-outlet power strip ought to accommodate six plugs. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable opening position.

Then you plug in one of those chunky power adapters and discover that the outlet beside it is now a viewing area.

You can see it. You know what it’s for. You cannot use it.

I understand that some devices need an adapter rather than a little two-prong plug. There are electrical reasons for the box. Fine. What I don’t understand is why the box and the power strip seem to have been designed under a strict agreement never to meet.

The strip puts its outlets close together. The adapter extends sideways. Or downward. Or in whichever direction would be least helpful given the thing already plugged in.

So you start rearranging.

The big one goes on the end, where it can hang over the edge. Sensible. Except there’s another big one, and that one’s casing crowds the switch. The ordinary lamp plug could fit in the middle if the adapter next to it were just a little narrower.

It isn’t.

Now you’re crouched beside a desk, holding two plugs and considering alternate layouts. This was supposed to be the easy part of owning a lamp.

What gets me is the empty outlet. If every socket were occupied, I could accept that. Full is full. But a perfectly good outlet sitting there behind a plastic overhang feels like an administrative refusal.

There is capacity. There is demand. Unfortunately, the departments aren’t speaking.

And yes, you can shop for a strip with more space between the outlets. That’s a reasonable fix. I’m just mildly offended that plugging things in has become something you need to be good at shopping for.

Count the sockets. Check the spacing. Study the orientation of every adapter you own. Somewhere in there, remember why you wanted electricity.

It has six outlets. Three are for looking at.