Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones is arguably the fastest wide receiver in the NFL today. With a 40-yard dash time of 4.39, it's hard to believe the amount of body control, route-running accuracy, and catching ability he contains. In 2008, Julio Jones became the first true freshman to start in a season opener for the University of Alabama in the school's history. In three seasons as a member of the Crisom Tide, Jones started every single game and helped lead the team to a 14-0 record in 2009 which includes a BCS National Championship victory over the Texas Longhorns.
The 6'3 speedster was drafted 6th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons where he's played his entire career and racked up some of the most monetizing contracts in NFL history. In his nine seasons in the NFL, Jones has earned six Pro Bowl honors, led the league twice in reception yards (2015, 2018), and has become the quickest receiver to reach 10,000 career receiving yards in NFL history. Jones also holds the NFL record for career average receiving yards per game with 96.7. With accolades such as these, the Falcons shelled out a $66 million, three-year extension with the receiver in September 2019. At only 30-years-old, Jones has a potential earning status of over $163 at this point in his career but has racked up over $103 million to this date.
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."