With OS X (maybe even OS 9?) the interaction was changed so that when you dragged a disk to the trash can icon, the icon changed to an eject icon (⏏), but it seems that this has been removed at some point in the last 18 years since when I went to check it, it doesn't happen anymore. On the other hand, the disk icon now has an eject button next to it in at least some Finder views.

Exactly, wave goodbye to any attempt at user consistency. Same with Win10, it launched 7 years ago and they still haven't made the the new UI standard. Try changing user passwords or system sounds or..etc. In all honesty find Linux Mint with XFCE far less mental grind than either of the predominant platforms. It has a rough edge here and there but that's it - things in general stay in place. As a result I dedicate more time to end result of my computing rather than the medium.