[throwaway2048]

There is a (likely apocryphal) story that when Galileo presented the Doge of Venice with his first telescope, he took him aside privately and they went to the tallest tower in Venice to spy on the incoming trade vessels, then rushed down to the market and proceeded to make a killing on the knowledge of when exactly cargo would be arriving.

[drited]

And another about how the Rothchilds had a better messaging system (flags? Burning pyres? Pigeons?) after the of the battle of Waterloo and traded British Government bonds on the London exchange after the win (first openly selling to head fake the market which knew of their messaging time advantage and then buying through nominees in the ensuing panic)