Its unlikely anyone bothered to explain gold to anyone who didn't use it or already value it.

More likely that they just took it and over time consensus convened that gold is better than the rest. #bitcoin will be similar, those who get it are doing all they can to pan for it out west (home miners), build mega mines, scam for it (crooks), and take by organized force (gov). There are many parallels in how they get to that top spot.