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Many inventions simply happen when the environment is ready for them, e.g. manufacturing techniques have advanced to the point where something is possible.

Others get forgotten about because the funding or key manufacturing techniques don’t exist so the idea gets lost.

It can be a long way from a prototype to something worth building at scale.

The sadest are the useful ones that cant access their market, have some risk combined with small margins or an [initial] audience without money.

Not terribly surprising, since using focused light to start fires was known to the ancients. From there, it’s not a huge leap to optics (however crude).

As I understand it, the Vatican astronomers called Galileo out on his claim to have invented the telescope. It didn't stop them from buying a couple of his scopes.