In recent years, the Green Bay Packers have been home to two of the greatest quarterbacks of the modern era in Brett Farve and Aaron Rodgers. The Packers also have a slew of Hall of Fame talent hailing from the Vince Lombardi era of their historic past. However, we're giving the Packers crown to eldest athlete on the list thus far to wide receiver, Don Hutson. It's understandable why some might argue that Don Hutson isn't the Packers greatest player to date due to the level athleticism displayed in the 1930s and '40s, but Hutson was one of football's first deep threats in existence.
After winning the national championship as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide in 1934, Hutson took his talents to Green Bay where he would play all eleven seasons of his NFL career (1935-45). Throughout that decade, Hutson would lead the league in receptions a total of eight times, as well as touchdowns a total of nine times, and receiving yards a total of seven times. Hutson took home two NFL MVP Awards (1941, 1942) and helped the Packers win three NFL Championships (1936, 1939, 1944). Hutson even led the league in interceptions one year in 1940. Honestly, there was nothing he couldn't do on the football. Hutson passed away in 1997, but his legacy lives on to this 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."