The blade sticking out of the pictured outlet is from a power adapter that was powering an Apple (Mac) laptop, plugged into a 120-Volt outlet. When the user, a Network Engineer, attempted to unplug the power adapter from the outlet, the blade in the “hot” side of the outlet broke free of the power adapter and remained in the outlet.
This condition presented a serious shock hazard to the user. Had he not been attentive to the equipment condition, a serious injury could have occurred. While this incident occurred at home, the proliferation of Apple-branded products encouraged the Network Engineer to share the experience with co-workers.