The operators >> and << don't mean "send strings to output," they are stream operators that either put something into a stream (<<) or take something out of a stream (>>). They're actually a surprisingly intuitive notation because the arrows point in the direction of data movement (since the stream is always to the left). There aren't many other notations that can be as intuitive and bidirectional. The next obvious notation, -> and <-, are off limits because -> is already a legal operator on an object.

There are many valid criticisms of C++. I don't think not using enough keys on the keyboard is one of them.