Groundless -[ HMM ]-

An outlet from back in the day, the two-prong NEMA 1-15R receptacle commonly found in homes in North America and other facilities built before 1962.

 

This outlet style was infamous for requiring an adaptor to plug in anything with a grounded (earthed) plug, short of snapping off the ground prong. In order to achieve grounding, a lug on the plug end of the adaptor had to be secured to the outlet with the cover plate screw, but that's assuming metallic conduit or armored cable was used in the building. The problem was that either some buildings (like part of my 1961-vintage house, for example) were wired with non-metallic cable without a ground wire or, most likely, the user didn't even bother to secure the lug, defeating the intended purpose. Because of that, such adaptors are now illegal in many areas.

 

Even though these obsolete outlets are still available strictly for replacement purposes, a ground-fault-circuit-interrupter outlet (GFCIs, also known as residual-current devices, or RCDs) can be used as a replacement to provide a safety ground without additional wiring; a ground wire is required for equipment, such as computers, requiring grounding for equipment protection.

 

Oh, one other thing...the solid oak outlet plate, kind of a relic of 1960s and '70s interior design trends, fell out of style long ago, recently superseded by sleek plastic faceplates and matching devices available in a wide variety of colors, many with hidden fasteners for a clean appearance.

Done