Maybe the plumber/electrician/whoever wanted the red coloring and writing "EMERGENCY SWITCH" on the cover. Thats still not a good enough excuse, because you can get plates made up to say whatever you like, or make them yourself with a plain steel cover and a can of Krylon. Also, does anyone else think the "Sharpie" writing on the cover is kind of hard to read?
edited to add question about sharpie

[This message has been edited by sparked (edited 06-18-2004).]