Here's a pic of my modest aquarium, and it's attendant:

[Linked Image from i143.photobucket.com]

Now, that aquarium has a light, a pump, a heater, and a UV sterilizing light. That's four plugs. Most aquariums also have an air pump (I don't need one because of that 'quite waterfall' you see).

It's kind of hard to put five plugs into a duplex receptacle. Most folks are not about to rip the walls apart to install additional receptacles- especially if they're renting. With 'starter' aquariums around $20, you can be sure plenty of renters have them.

My desk has 10 receptacles, and there have been times where every one was in use. Here's the count of current things plugged in:
Computer: 3 + printer = 4
Modem & router: 2 (located elsewhere)
Desk lamps: 2
Paper shredder: 1
Under desk heaters: 2 (becomes 1 fan in summer.
Cell phone charger: 1

Lucky for me I still use the old-fashioned manual pencil sharpener and stapler.

Face it: Power strips are here to stay.

Plus .... let's look at that desk again. 4 or 5 plugs under the desk, 4-5 above the desk. That's a situation just begging for two power strips ... meaning, regardless of what the "White book" says, you'll see the things daisy chained.

There are various experts' and parts of the listing standards that want to obstruct the use of power strips. They're not only tilting at windmills, they're also preventing QUALITY strips from being made. They've set their doctrine against the customers' wishes.

There are countless examples of what the result is when that happens: Doctrine fails, and bad things happen because of attempts to impose the doctrine. "Prohibition" is probably the grandest of such failed experiments.
Doctrine has to change.