ELI5 Electric Sockets - why isn't there a global standard?

ELI5 Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast

Why is there a difference in voltage between America and pretty much the rest of the world? Is there an advantage to one vs the other? How did we end up with so many different types of electrical sockets? What’s different about the ‘shavers only’ sockets you see in bathrooms?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: instantpowdy, talksintext, irish_sausage, tomoldbury, cdb03b and zouden

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