Brett Favre has never seen a football that he wasn't willing to throw in the midst of any defense. Favre was relentlessly brave when it came to dropping back and letting it fly downfield. So much that Favre holds the NFL record for most career interceptions. While that might appear negative mark on his legacy, Favre also is one of the most successful and studied quarterbacks of all-time. The 6'2 quarterback hailing from Gulfport, Mississippi accepted a scholarship offer to play in his home state at the University of Southern Mississippi. Originally, the coaching staff pressured Favre to play defensive back but proved he was worth the starting quarterback position after being labeled as the seventh-string quarterback. In four seasons as a Southern Miss Golden Eagle, Favre shattered most of the team's quarterback records with a total of 7,695 passing yards, 52 touchdowns, and an overall quarterback rating of 116.6.
Despite having a legendary collegiate football career, Favre was selected 33rd overall in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. In a single season with Atlanta, Favre only took four pass attempts, two of which were intercepted. The following season, Favre made his way to the Green Bay Packers where he would play his best football for the next decade in a half. In the 1993 season, Favre led the Packers to their first postseason since 1982. After becoming the main play-caller, Favre led the Packers to a total of eleven playoff berths, eight division championships, five NFC Championship games, and two Super Bowl appearances (XXXI and XXXII). The 11x Pro Bowler led the Packers to a championship over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Favre also is the only player to have won three straight MVPs (1995-1997) and held the all-time leading records for passing yards, passing touchdowns, and quarterback wins upon his retirement in January 2011. Those records have since then been broken but Favre will forever be known as one of the blueprints for the modern-day quarterback.
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."