no they have not been. We imagine then get the know how to make it real. That's why man feels like god
The ideas come first. That's why Einstein said
"imagination is more important than knowledge"
"Creativity is intelligence having fun"
While some still chose to understand the world by being superstitious or fearful of the unknown others are driven by the need to know and they paired with people who have imagination seemingly make magic. That's in us not some government lab hidden somewhere.
Im not so sure its' all imagination. I'm sure alot of creations are, but, like even alot of the creatures in movies adn cartoons come from cave drawings, native lore(common stories from around the world), not to mention medical practices and ancient batteries.
I mean there were electric cars in the early 20th century.
..and the old days had some cool "sci-fact" apparatus like this..