USB A came out right 20(?) years earlier than C - I’m guessing here, don’t slay me.

Pretty close. It's debatable at exactly what moment a cable "comes out" (is it when the specification is finalized? When it's published? When device manufacturing starts? When a popular consumer device first has it?) but my personal opinion is 1996 and 2017 for USB-A and USB-C, so 21 years difference.