Do you mind explaining why? Short circuits are common, and are mitigated against. Reversed voltage is exceedingly rare, especially for USB C with mirrored contacts.
The purpose of test equipment is to diagnose weird situations - hence why OP broke two of them trying to understand what was happening. Its requirements are to be as robust and transparent as practical. The other end of the cable could likely be bare wires connected ad-hoc with alligator/mini clips.
FWIW because the USB PD device is connecting two separate grounds, this same failure could have happened from a single broken ground wire.
> The purpose of test equipment is to diagnose weird situations...Its requirements are to be as robust and transparent as practical
That doesn't set a clear-cut boundary, does it? What seems practical to you might be impractical to the test equipment maker - especially when cost is considered. Should the test equipment be robust enough to handle 1000+ amps? I'd say no, someone else (maybe even you) might say yes.
