Think it was some kind of combination of that, pressing it too much, and/or not noticing what setting the throttle whatsit was supposed to be on. Maybe not pulling the cord-thingy as directed, I'unno. Possibly in such an order that by the time they actually noticed or tried proper procedure, they'd gummed up something enough it needed a few hours/days to clear out and start working properly again (so they could get it working, just with... difficulty). Gave 'em a fit and a half, though, whereas doing it step by step the first time, as mentioned, was basically a non-issue.
As for the why, because the folks that use it most often can't really work your normal one all that well at this point, so it's a push one (they're... old. Both are in their 80s, one still gardens fairly regularly), and if there were any electric options for those, they cost too much more to have been considered. Also pretty big yard, honestly, so it helps out even the ones of us that chip in that can handle your average carry-around ones.
... plus I think all the electric ones they've had over the years have managed to break. Pretty sure there's actually one or two laying around somewhere in one of the storage areas/outside places that just don't work. As you might imagine, folks that don't bother to read the ignition steps also aren't the biggest on careful storage and maintenance :V