Historically, the Cleveland Browns have not had alot of success in attempting to get back to championship form, but the Ohio-based football franchise has had several notable individuals represent their franchise to best of their abilities. Yet, none of them can ever be as impactful as former running back, Jim Brown. In just nine seasons of play (1957-65), Brown revolutionized the game and was nearly impossible to bring down during his era in the NFL. Defenders would bounce off of him like pinballs as Brown would continue to drive his legs towards his endzone.
Not only was Brown an All-America football athlete at Syracuse University, he also excelled at basketball, lacrosse, and track & field. However, Jim Brown took his talents to the NFL where he was drafted 6th overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 1957 NFL Draft. The 9x Pro Bowler earned an NFL Championship with the Browns in 1964 and went on to lead the league in rushing eight times out of the nine years he played. With 106 rushing touchdowns and 12,312 rushing yards under his belt, Brown is still amongst the all-time leading running backs to this very day.
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."