I'll add my anecdotal 2c :it's the same as you. The UK plug is overkill, IMO, but the US plug is downright nasty. The lack of 'off' switches in the majority of them is a problem. I always figured the problem stems from the original design, which was probably a version 1.0, as the USA was the first to get electricity into homes. That's why other countries have superior systems - they had time to learn from the problems and design better systems, with built-in grounds, isolating switches at the point, and higher voltages (220/240 vs 110).

But I could be all wrong, as I'm no expert beyond having a drawer full of adapter plugs.