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

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 To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: [email protected]