A similar idea is that of abandoned tech and terminated/less lucrative branches of tech within functional branches, like image display tech (I.e. mechanical TV>

A similar idea is that of abandoned tech and terminated/less lucrative branches of tech within functional branches, like image display tech (I.e. mechanical TV>crt>plasma>lcd>oled)w where research grinds nearly to a halt. We can learn a lot by looking back and seeing some odd tech that was a neat demonstration 100 years ago, that we basically forgot about, but might make commercial sense today.