Are you sure that tripped GFCI receptacle only opens hot? I think I remember that neutral also opens.Since a GFCI receptacle will work just fine with a two wire connection and no EGC to provide a ground reference, it should also work fine with the terminals reversed.
However in the event of a ground fault it will trip but interrupt the neutral instead of the hot, limiting the protection you get from it.
You may notice the appliance stops working, but you may still get a shock.
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Maybe the design changed with the application to ungrounded receptacles?
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