There are electrical outlets all over your house, scattered along the walls, unnoticed and under-appreciated until the nearest one is too far away for your electrical cord to reach. As American life gets more complicated and higher-tech, we find ourselves increasingly dependent on these funny looking holes in the wall.

Ground fault circuit interrupter outlets have two buttons on them (test and reset), and are always polarized and grounded. The purpose of the GFCI is to detect ground faults and shut off the power if they occur. Therefore, if the currents in the hot and neutral do not match, someone has dropped the hair dryer into the bathtub. GFCI's help stop this from killing you. This type can be found in the bathroom and near the kitchen sink.