Back in the 90s and early 2000s distributions very much did matter as a consequence of the high bar of entry Unix-like systems back then. Unless you happened to be a tech enthusiast troubleshooting through issues on Linux could prove to be difficult, lacking many of the creature comforts we have today.
Distributions these days are more of a starting point consisting of different preset configurations maintained by their respective development team. Each has its own pros and cons and can easily be replicated on any other distribution you use. I'm still relatively new to Linux, hence why I feel like a normie compared to people who are well and truly comfortable in their niche as I pointed out previously.
I started with Manjaro then moved on to Arch but there is no shame in using Debian, Ubuntu, and their variants. ChromeOS is based on Gentoo which itself was derived from Ubuntu so in a roundabout way everything comes full circle in the end.
I previously had a couple of acquaintances which used Chromebooks but weren't inclined to modify them at my behest to offer them the Linux experience. As far as I'm aware, it is very much possible to run a Linux environment in ChromeOS with any distribution much like one would in Windows with Windows Subsystem for Linux.
The idea and potential for using a Chromebook as a tool to educate people on using Linux in a safe, user-friendly environment always fascinated me. Alas; Google intends to move away from Linux to their own proprietary operating system so I can't see much use for that in the long term.
If only people knew the world of possibilities they had opened up for themselves.
You have got me curious now about the possibilities of hacking ChromeOS, which may be the only thing that can redeem it in my eyes...
I appreciate the retrospective!