Standing at 6'5 and weighing 240lbs, Ben Roethlisberger is a massive force behind center with a rocket for an arm. He's helped the Pittsburgh Steelers become a repeat playoff presence for the past decade and a half. Ben Roethlisberger played his collegiate football at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 2000 to 2003. His initial year, he was redshirted and was named the starting quarterback in 2001. In his final season with the Miami Redhawks, he led the team to an unbeaten record and a 49-28 victory in the 2003 GMAC Bowl over Louisville. In three seasons of play, Roethlisberger broke twenty-one school records for the institution.
In the 2004 NFL Draft, Ben Roethlisberger was picked 11th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers where he's played his entire sixteen-season NFL career. In his second year with the team, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a championship in Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks. In 2008, the Steelers brought home a second champion with Roethlisberger leading the way and also made an appearance in 2010 at Super Bowl XLV. With so much success coming the way of the 6x Pro Bowler, signed two contract extensions worth $87 million in 2008 and 2014. His latest contract extension came in 2019, $68 million for two years of service.
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."