Book Reading #1: Bad Design #1

Bad Design #1: Switch for Power Outlet

This is a light switch that controls a power outlet on the wall.  The outlet is behind the recliner, so you will just have to trust me when I say that the lamp is connected to a normal looking outlet and is controlled by the switch.  This may seem like a great design at first when it is being used properly, but after further analysis it will not seem as so.  When my roommates and I moved into the house the switch appeared to not do anything when switched on or off.  When we attempted to use the outlet, nothing would work in it because the switch happened to be in the off position. Only later did we realize the invisible connection between the switch and outlet by luck. How were we supposed to know?  There was absolutely no visible aid to show that the switch was connected to the outlet, so we assumed it was just a faulty outlet.  We live in an old house, so some things are bound to not work.  Many down falls go through my head when I think of this.  What if we had connected a computer or TV to the outlet when the switch was in the on position?  Every time someone hit the switch, the device would go off potentially damaging it.  There is no other outlets on that side of the room either, so this one outlet effectively forces us to put all our other devices in the other outlet on the opposite side of the room.  Only our lamp may plug into the outlet since it is the only device we want to be controlled by the switch even though there are two plugs like all normal outlets.  The other plug is completely useless.  Who needs two lamps in the same spot?