Posts: 4,751
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2006
Friend asked me.
Here is how I remembered it.
"Black is bad" Black wire is hot and will hurt you (Bad)
In 30's cowboy movies the bad guy usually wore a black hat.
"Wide is white" white wire to wide prong or slot.
Worked for me.
I long for the days when Coke was a soft drink, and Black and Decker was a quality tool.
Happiness is a snipe free planer
Posts: 1,531
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2007
(06-19-2021, 09:19 AM)Pirate Wrote: Friend asked me.
Here is how I remembered it.
"Black is bad" Black wire is hot and will hurt you (Bad)
In 30's cowboy movies the bad guy usually wore a black hat.
"Wide is white" white wire to wide prong or slot.
Worked for me.
White wire can hurt as well. Do not get between two good guys fighting. Switches can be fed with white wire too. To expand on your thought process. The lone Ranger was a good guy and he rode a horse called Silver. So Hi Ho Silver and white goes on silver screw and black goes on gold.
John T.
Posts: 4,764
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2008
white is bright. silver screw is bright.
Posts: 19,297
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Ohio
I learned black to brass. Probably something about white to silver...but the alliteration is what stuck.
Posts: 16,604
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Ra-cha-cha, NY
I can never remember, so it’s always the narrow one on a polarized plug or receptacle is hot.
Tom
“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
Posts: 28,064
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Pacific ocean now much further away!
Isn’t this black/white electrical thing racist?
VH07V
Posts: 17,395
Threads: 2
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: pburg, wv
(06-20-2021, 02:57 PM)EightFingers Wrote: Isn’t this black/white electrical thing racist?
i'm not sure in this case since the thread seems to refer to black Irish.
mark
Ignorance is bliss -- I'm very, very happy 
Posts: 10,850
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Front seat on the Struggle Bus
My high school colors were black & gold.....made it easy to remember when wiring.
Ed
Posts: 16,604
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Ra-cha-cha, NY
(06-20-2021, 02:57 PM)EightFingers Wrote: Isn’t this black/white electrical thing racist?
Don’t think so. Black and white are employed equally in small work.
Red, on the other hand, is way in the minority, when it comes to wiring.
And forget blue - nobody uses blue except for big work, and even then mostly when the other colors have already been put to work, although affirmative action only requires non-white (or non-gray; an age thing?) for certain conductors and doesn’t actually say what color must be employed.
Hmmm - maybe it’s not so egalitarian.
Don’t get me started on plumbing, with only two genders.
Tom
“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
Posts: 2,014
Threads: 1
Joined: Aug 2016
(06-21-2021, 06:18 AM)TDKPE Wrote: Don’t think so. Black and white are employed equally in small work.
Red, on the other hand, is way in the minority, when it comes to wiring.
And forget blue - nobody uses blue except for big work, and even then mostly when the other colors have already been put to work, although affirmative action only requires non-white (or non-gray; an age thing?) for certain conductors and doesn’t actually say what color must be employed.
Hmmm - maybe it’s not so egalitarian.
Don’t get me started on plumbing, with only two genders.
Did you leave out brown and orange because they are a different phase ?
Roly
