There's no denying that Dan Marino is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. Marino had a rocket launcher for an arm and one of the quickest releases of quarterbacks in his era in the 1980s and '90s. Yet still, the Miami Dolphins organization just couldn't provide him with the support that he needed to secure the Lombardi Trophy throughout his illustrious NFL career. Lackluster defenses and only one 1,000-yard rusher during his seventeen-year stint with the Dolphins failed him for what he so righteously deserved in gaining one Super Bowl victory.
Following his college football career at the University of Pittsburgh, Marino was the final selected quarterback picked 27th overall in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. Marino spent his entire career with the Dolphins leading the team to ten playoff berths and one Super Bowl appearance in 1984 (Super Bowl XIX). Marino also set single-season records in 1984 breaking the passing yards recordwith 5,084 yards and the single-season touchdown record with 48. This performance led him to NFL MVP honors for the year. To this day, Marino is considered the greatest quarterback of all-time to never win a Super Bowl.
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."