The Minnesota Vikings has been home to some the greatest NFL talent we've seen to date. From recrd-breaking wideout Randy Moss to Cris Carter to Adrian Peterson to Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton, the Vikings know how to pick top-notch skill-position athletes. But, while those guys are worthy of praise, they don't live up to the hype of the leader of the Purple People Eaters, defensive tackle, Alan Page. Page simply wouldn't allow for any o-lineman to stay infront of him, he would utilize his brute strength and drive guards and centers back straight into the ball disrupting offenses at will.
In 1966, Page led the prestigious football school, the University of Norte Dame to a national championship and was drafted 17th overall in the 1967 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Page went on to become one in eleven Vikings' players to have played in all four of the Vikings' Super Bowl appearances. Page earned all nine of his Pro Bowl selections as a member of the Vikings before taking his talents to the Chicago Bears in in 1978. He also became the first defensive player in NFL history to become the league's Most Valuable Player. Following his career in football, Page went on to serve as the associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court until he was forced to retire at the required age of 70 in 2015.
When we think of inventors, the image that comes to mind is usually that of a frazzled scientist toiling away in a lab, not celebrities pulled from the pages of Us Weekly. However, a number of well-known public figures hold patents for various innovations. Some are related to the work that made them famous, while others are offshoots of hobbies or just a single great idea.
Part of guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen's signature sound was his two-handed tapping technique, but letting all ten fingers fly while simultaneously holding up the guitar's neck could get a bit tricky. Van Halen came up with a novel way to get around this problem, though; he invented a support (top) that could flip out of the back of his axe's body to raise and stabilize the fretboard so he could tap out searing songs like "Eruption." While Van Halen was obviously interested in improving his guitar work, the patent application he filed in 1985 notes that the device would work with any stringed instrument. Want to tap out a scorching mandolin solo? Find someone selling Eddie's device.
It’s probably not surprising that James Cameron—who designed a submersible to take him to the deepest known part of the ocean—will often invent technology to make his films if what he needs doesn’t exist. He holds a number of patents, including US Patent No. 4996938, “apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment,” that he and his brother, Michael, created to film The Abyss and patented in 1989. The device is basically an underwater dolly equipped with propellers that makes it easy for a camera operator to maneuver in the water—and allowed Cameron to capture the shots he wanted for the 1989 film, part of which was filmed in an abandoned nuclear reactor.
In 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes. She hasn't profited from her idea yet, though, since she refuses to license the patent until diaper companies make biodegradable products.
You know him as a rock legend, but Neil Young also loves trains—so much that he owns a stake in a model train manufacturing company and has an extensive collection. He also holds seven patents related to model trains, including Patent No. US5441223, "Model train controller using electromagnetic field between track and ground."