Oh it's easy to find bad reports if you go searching for them. People without problems rarely report the fact. I've got three Pi running many SQL databases. One of them has been running the same 2TB drive for six years with 25 databases on. Most of those are small, but a couple are large with millions of records.With large SQL databases? Just type "usb hard drive corrupted on pi" into Google you will find out that your case is rare and usb powered hard drives crapping out is the norm.
Some drives do need extra power. The Pi also needs a good power supply anyway. It's been a long time since a PI (1B) could be run happily from a phone charger and that one was only designed to run a mouse or keyboard from its two USB ports.