From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid   
      
   > It's a law to restrict repairs so that only people with a certificate   
   > can repair them, thereby increasing the need for training courses.  It   
   > doesn't have a rationale but the excuse was that people who attempted   
   > repair might electrocute themselves.   
      
   The US constrains such services in certain industries, but usually   
   not paternalistically.   
      
   E.g., servicing refrigeration systems requires certification   
   primarily to ensure "proper" handling and disposal of the   
   refrigerants.   
      
   Liability laws serve to sort out the slipshod repairs of kit that   
   could pose a safety hazard to a subsequent purchaser/user.   
      
   > Of all domestic appliances, the microwave oven represented the greatest   
   > danger, with a mains-derived power supply of several kilovolts which was   
   > capable of giving several hundred milliamps.  If the discharge resistor   
   > failed, the charge on the capacitor was lethal long after it had been   
   > switched off.   
   >   
   > The actual effect of the law was to decrease the number of people who   
   > were killed trying to repair them from virtually zero to virtually zero   
   > and greatly increase the number of microwave ovens that were scrapped   
   > unnecessarily.   
      
   Our "electric kettle" has a pair of upward-facing concentric rings *exposed*   
   in the base.  These connected to the mains and acting as the interface to the   
   removable kettle (with similarly styled mating rings in its underside).   
   Nothing (beyond common sense) prevents the user from making contact with these.   
      
   Coupled with the fact that you are handling liquids that could easily spill   
   as the kettle is transported from its base to its intended dispensing   
   location...   
      
   Toasters are notoriously vulnerable to folks trying to fish out a   
   bagel or other "thick" item with a fork or knife.   
      
   And, apparently, enough people stick things in electric outlets   
   to mandate a mechanical barrier included in the receptacle to seal   
   off the openings in the absence of a "real plug".   
      
   There are all sorts of ways people can hurt themselves out of ignorance or   
   misuse.  When I worked at a hand tool manufacturer, a guy had used a wood   
   chisel to cut aluminum gutters (I imagine it would be highly effective,   
   though unsure how easily CONTROLLED).  I guess the idea that a bit of   
   aluminum might find its way into his eye wasn't one of the things he   
   thought of before undertaking that activity!   
      
   The edges (rim) of hammers are tempered to soften the steel as a strike   
   that just catches the edge would "splinter" that portion of the hammer,   
   otherwise.   
      
   Yet, we let ANYONE dispense volatile liquids into their motor vehicles....   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)