Trail of breadcrumbs!
The origin of the term breadcrumb tail is explained below:
The term 'breadcrumb' or 'breadcrumb trail' is borrowed from the story of 'Hansel and Gretel' where the kids drop a trail of breadcrumbs to trace their way back home. Similarly, breadcrumb navigation is used to indicate the user's journey along with their current location. Read more
It is simply based on the idea of making use of a breadcrumb to set a trail, in other for others to follow incase they are searching for you.
The way I see it, it can be beyond the breadcrumbs. As in, other elements can be used if it has the same function but I guess the breadcrumb was used because of the illustrated story.
It is indeed good to leave a trail, especially when you are the first to tread the path. So, leave breadcrumbs on your way up!
Thank you for your time...