Re: how and have i been lucky ?
a lot of stuff we do these days don’t even have an off switch, even if it is marked as such. Stick your volt stick around a “switched off” indesit/Hotpoint dishwasher and you will see what I mean.
How did we confirm disconnected before volt sticks? Or maybe everything had easily accessible plugs in those days. Whatever, those belts we occasionally get seem a lot worse once you are past a certain age.