InfoPower

After World War II, America saw the rise of multiple industries including electronics, which grew 400% in a ten-year span (1945–1955). Appliances such as hard-wired and transistor radios, televisions, refrigerators, and washers were driving demand, and electronics in automobiles and campers. The race to modernize carmaker assembly lines was on as well. The shift from soldering to crimping (including the specific B-crimp style) for electrical terminations in the 1950s was driven primarily by the need for high-reliability applications such as military and aerospace wiring—and soldering was becoming less of an option heading into the jet age.

The crown jewel of Industrial Revolution 4.0 is AI. As of March of 2026, many corporations are embracing it, but some are shunning it fearing they will lose employees. However, those favoring AI claim it will create more jobs for humans as well as new industries. There’s no denying, however, that AI sees the digital world like a black hole sees suns, moons, and planets at a galactic buffet, the former digesting and disseminating everything on the Web in yottabytes and Yoctoseconds. Obvious questions arise. None more important than which country will become the AI superpower. Will said country shut down its most powerful enemy’s electric grids and water treatment stations just to ensure world dominance? Pop culture is replete with computer and computer-aided villains from Star Trek to 2001: A Space Odessey, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Spectre, and a host of others. Should humans embrace or brace for AI? Is Vegas already cashing in on its algorithms? Will it give us odds on which country will become the AI superpower? So many questions.

While it’s true that many countries outside of the continental U.S. use North American plugs, and many countries beyond the continent of Europe use European plugs, the majority of countries have their own proprietary plug patterns that adhere to their own standards as well as its safety agency or agencies of choice. Complicated? Yes, and no.

UL 94 Testing Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) 94 Standard for Safety Tests for Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances defines acceptable flammability ratings of plastic materials for parts in devices and appliances in North America, including cord sets. The First Edition of UL 94 appeared in September of 1972. On September 16, 1988, the Department of Defense (DoD) adopted UL 94.