Mississippi is another one of those states that continues to crank out NFL legends. From Walter Peyton to Brett Farve to Jerry Rice, the true battle for king of Mississippi lies between Rice and Peyton, but with a 21 year long career, we had to go with the greatest wide receiver of all-time on this one. During his college career, at Mississippi Valley State, Rice broke the NCAA single-game reception record with 24 catches against LSU in 1983. The record-breaking only continued after he was selected 16th overall in the 1984 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers where he played the majority of his NFL career.
Rice won all three of his Super Bowls as a member of the 49ers and was named the third wide receiver ever to win Super Bowl MVP for his 11 catch, 215 yard effort in Super Bowl XXIII. The Hall of Fame receiver currently holds NFL records for most receiving yards with 22,895, receptions with 1,549, receiving touchdowns with 197, and total touchdowns with 208. There isn't a receiver alive that doesn't want to be like the 13x Pro Bowler, Jerry Rice.
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."