At one point in time, John McCain would have been considered the most notable Arizona Cardinals fan in all of the land. Unfortunately, McCain passed away in his hometown of Cornville, AZ in August of last year so, those honors have since then been passed to country singer/songwriter, Blake Shelton. The seven-time Grammy-nominated country artist isn't afraid of the big stage himself as he's faced a multitude of didn't adversities throughout his music career. However, he has come out on top as a multi-platinum selling musician and the soon to be spouse of the ever-so-beautiful Gwen Stefani who just so happens to be a musician herself.
Unfortunately, for Shelton's Arizona Cardinals, the football organization performed the worst out of all 32 teams with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses but, luckily, will be granted the first pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. And despite his team's dismal performance, it didn't stop Shelton from showing up to team practices, attending games, and even receiving his own jersey from the franchise's executives. It takes guts to hold your team down through tough times but, Blake Shelton is loyal and it shows.
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."