Earthing your Electrical equipment

Electrical appliances which have metal casings can sometimes become "live" or electified due to the cable touching the housing or something conducting the electricity to the outer case. This could cause a nasty shock if it isn't earthed.

This included Oven's / Stove's, fridges, microwaves, kettles, refrigerators, washing machines and dish washers. Basically anything with a metal outter housing. The earth wire prevents this from happening by taking the current through the earth cable to the point where the earth has been grounded. The earth cable is low resistance and hence when the current flows through it, it breaks the fuse and disconnects the appliance. It can also trip the circuit breaker at the main distribution board.