I always like to think of a scientist 'discovering' something like a coal miner finding a vein. They didn't just stick a pick in the ground and start digging an

I always like to think of a scientist 'discovering' something like a coal miner finding a vein. They didn't just stick a pick in the ground and start digging anywhere. First they saw an odd concentration of coal fragments on top of the soil, they routed through the top soil and found even more. When they dug deeper they found bigger fragments so they staked a claim. They got some buddies together and dug a test shaft and found a vein of coal. It wasn't a lottery, someone was actually out looking for coal, found coal on the dirt and started to dig a little deeper until they found a vein.