If you have 50 different plug types, appliances wouldn't be available and would be very expensive. But once an electric outlet becomes standardized, many companies can design appliances, and competition ensues, creating variety and better prices for consumers.
President Obama still places far too much emphasis on relentless testing with standardized exams.
Standardized sizes made inexpensive, off-the-rack garments economically feasible. They gave shoppers a reliable guide to finding clothes in self-service shops.
Ballot formats should be standardized nationally rather than left to the often bad judgment of local officials.
Reading galleys on the subway is the closest the publishing industry comes to having a standardized mating call.
