Not always right and not always wrong...there's a ringing endorsement. Wikipedia is fine for a quick overview, but I'd use it as a reference as often as I use a paper encyclopedia.
The problem isn't the connectors, it's the force exterted by bending cables that thick. They try and straighten out, putting pressure on the inside of the jack.
$48 is cheaper than I've ever spent on sushi for myself, I think, unless it was just a couple of pieces as an appetizer .
There was a week in 99 when I dropped just north of $2k on sushi in a week (bought for my parents and my wife's, in 2 trips to the sushi bar )
Potholes in the rain aren't a problem. Oil on the road right when the rain starts is the problem. I had my 1 bad wreck in the rain a couple years ago. I got a concussion. Sucked.
300 miles of aluminum cable between your wall and the power company. 2 feet of magic cables. If the last 2 feet makes a difference, something somewhere is fucked up...