It comes down to America being so uptight about sex. That has led to the popularity of seeking relief by humping doorknobs, which are much more ergonomically designed for that sort of thing than door levers.
Check out your local flea markets. Around here, it seems like there’s always a guy with a big box full of those old glass doorknobs. Often, there are several such people.
What about all the old systems that used negative logic? The telegraph, teletype, many old computers and logic circuits, RS-232, etc.
You’ll note that we don’t use any of that ass-backwards crap any more.
“Uncle Sherman” light switches aren’t nearly as funny in the UK as they are in the US.