220V/230V/240V (in Europe, at 50Hz) is actually the standard for just about everybody in the world aside from Japan, North America, and half of South America

My understanding is that because the US was the first with prolific electricity, they were also the first to get locked into a specific voltage. By the time the rest of world discovered that 220-240V was more effective for homes with large appliances, US homes already had so many 120V appliances that there was too much inertia and it was impossible to ever switch.

FWIW, most homes in the US still use a pair of 120V lines spliced together for 240V somewhere in the structure, usually boilers, A/C units, etc.