Jerry and George discussing their favorite explorers on the Seinfeld show wrote:
George: "Magellan? You like Magellan?"
Jerry: "Oh yeah, my favorite explorer. Around the world, come on. Who do you like?"
George: "I like DeSoto."
Jerry: "DeSoto? What did he do?"
George: "Discovered the Mississippi."
Jerry: "Oh, like they wouldn't have found that anyway."
From Seinfeld episode: "The Boyfriend" found on http://www.pkmeco.com/seinfeld/boyfrnd.htm
I've spent a lot of my career in research, and I often think of it like hundreds of people searching the woods for a missing child. The child could be anywhere, and any one of the searchers could be the one to make the find. But only one (or a few) of them will actually make the discovery and they'll be the ones with their pictures in the newspaper. The reality is that in many cases, everyone in that search participated equally and they should all be recognized for their efforts. But that's not the nature of people, and there's something inside our species that drives us to find "the one". Maybe having just one "hero" is easier for our pea brains to remember.