system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What happens to electricity that is "grounded"?
gpt
The electricity doesn't go into the ground like a big tank of electricity.

It just completes a circuit using the ground as part of the circuit.

We connect things to the ground mainly to make sure they won't shock you. As long as only one part of the circuit is connected, it makes no difference to the circuit since there's no complete circuit that goes through this connection. But it does prevent static electricity build-up.

There's also a safety purpose: if some wire breaks, for example, and it touches a grounded metal part, then it *does* complete a circuit, usually in a way that trips the circuit breaker, so you don't get shocked by touching it later.

Usually, every metal thing you could touch is connected to the ground. That's the purpose of the ground pin on power plugs. Also, one side of the actual circuit is connected to ground - the neutral side. Remember, this makes no difference when everything is normal.