Why do Americans use “tap” and “faucet”?

I'm an American also, but never go this.

For instance we call the gadget that dispenses water at the sink a "faucet", but call the stuff that comes out of it "tap water".

Edit: Ok, I thought it was clear that I know that faucet and tap are synonymous by my question but I guess not.

My question is WHY do we use to terms for the same thing? Does anyone know the history of why?

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