Because the physical spec was dreamt up by electrical engineers, perhaps? I can cut them a little slack because they had to spec something everyone in the conso

Because the physical spec was dreamt up by electrical engineers, perhaps? I can cut them a little slack because they had to spec something everyone in the consortium could manufacture for peanuts, but not much. The USB plug is far from the worst connector design out there. My favourite is the audio jack, where you are guaranteed to short the signal lines to earth on connection and disconnection. Really smart, that one...