On a documentary two weeks ago on SBS it was stated that Galileo overheard a conversation at the ship docks of a Dutch man bringing a new invention to be show the Navy called a Dutch spyglass. The idea of seeing invading ships 2 hours away appealed to the War department. Galileo quickly went back to his home a ground up a crude lens with a cannon ball, slapped it in a tube a claimed the invention before the Dutch visitor got an appointment to show his Spyglass.
So was Galileo the man we all respect or was he a bit of a conman?
