When it comes to tight route running, breakaway speed, and a soft pair of hands that attract footballs like glue, look no further than NFL great, Randy Moss to satisfy all of your wide receiver needs. Moss nearly had a flawless NFL career despite not winning any rings. Randy Moss played his collegiate football in his home state of West Virginia at Marshall University where he earned two All-American nods. While he made an impression on NFL scouts, Moss fell to the 21st overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, selected by the Minnesota Vikings. We're sure those teams that passed on Moss are still kicking themselves to this very day.
Moss played his most prominent years as a receiver for the Minnesota Vikings before finding his way to the Oakland Raiders where he struggled with the front office. Moss would go on to sign with the New England Patriots in 2007 where he would go on to claim the single-season touchdown receptions record with a total of 23. Moss also holds the record for touchdowns scored by a rookie wide receiver with 17. Moss would make his way back to Minnesota and play for the Tennessee Titans and San FRancisco 49ers before retiring in 2013. The Hall of Fame wide out currently is a color commentator ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown.
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."