Hutch, what's that wire that looks like gold colored flex for? Did you splice that onto the thin wires of the light string? Wouldn't it have been better to just connect the green wires directly into the plug?

Also, what's this thing I see on some light-strings that say the product contains lead? Do they add lead to the rubber insulation? For what reason and is this the case with all types of parallel two-conductor cord-sets?