As others have stated, Ubuntu was never a minimalist distribution.
When Ubuntu first came out, most common CD drives could only work with CDs of a about 700Mb capacity, but assuming that the tech would keep improving, it was reasonable to suggest this. It was never because Ubuntu was touted as “lightweight”, though. Then writable DVDs became almost ubiquitous, and they eventually migrated to that. In the meantime, USB flash drives were getting cheaper, and Linux installer tech was also improving, so eventually (quite early actually) these were supported too. But this was simply a logical progression of tech development and catering to the predominant baseline capacities of storage media.
If you want a proper minimalist, try PuppyLinux or DamnSmallLinux. If you want to run on a Raspberry Pi (or one of their other supported SBCs) try DietPi.
There’s a lot of science behind modern screw heads, and things have moved on massively since the battle between flat and cross head screws was a thing - back in the 70’s, these were quite common, but recently, particularly on tools and gadgets, torx (6 pointed star head) is more popular, mainly because they reduce the chance of head stripping during manufacture massively. Combo screw heads were introduced into manufacturing because + head drivers are self-centring, are less strippable, and work better with powered drivers, but field repairers often only had flat head drivers. These days, I only carry one or two flat heads when I do the repair cafe, but mostly posi and philips, with a set of torx, and tiny exotic, and security bits. Most electric tools (drills, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, etc.) have torx or security torx. Electronics usually have philips or posi, occasionally torx or exotic. Electric kettles usually have mostly philips with a single exotic security head to prevent end-users from getting inside and electrocuting themselves.
For woodwork, I usually use posidrive heads, and occasionally torx. Most posi heads will work with a philips bit, but chew up more.