system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does outlets have a ground wire if neutral and ground are connected anyway at the fuse box?
gpt
They do not serve the same purpose. The white neutral wire is the grounded conductor and completes the circuit. The bare or green ground wire is the grounding conductor that serves as a safe return path should something go amiss in your electrical device or wiring path. So instead of your metal appliance holding an electrical charge that can shock you, that charge returns via the bonded ground. ELI5 version.