I always thought blender started out in-house on the Amiga.  I just don't think blender would be as actively developed had it not been the standard 3D tool on the linux platform, where it can be improved by the whole community.  Now it has matured to the point where, feature-wise, it can compete with 3D programs originating on the Mac or PC, but many people find that work flow to be too different from what they are used to.

I agree about context menus, it's one of the things that makes Wings so easy to use.  I usually only learn the hotkeys for functions I use the most, and for the others I go to the menu.  I use Sony Vegas which uses keys for the same reason as the programs mentioned, but still offers icons and numerous menus.  I just can't see getting very far with blender without using keys from the beginning, which was always my complaint with it.