Standing at 6'4 and weighing at 240lbs, Daunte Culpepper was one of those large quarterbacks that was athletically nimble and could take a hit. Whether on the ground or through the air, Culpepper delivered results during the prime years of his NFL career. Daunte Culpepper's mother, Barbara Henderson was serving a prison sentence during her pregnancy and adopted and raised by Emma Lewis Culpepper who worked at the same correctional facility, Daunte's mother was being held at. Throughout his sports career, Culpepper excelled at multiple sports and was even drafted 26th overall in the 1995 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. Culpepper refused to sign a contract with the Yankees and took his talents to the University of Central Florida where he would play from 1995-1998.
After virtually rewriting UCF's quarterback record books, Daunte Culpepper was selected 11th overall in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings where he would play seven seasons out of hi eleven-season NFL career. The 3x Pro Bowl selectee's best season came in 2004 when he contributed to a total yardage of 5,123, the most by a quarterback in a single season in NFL history. Unfortunately, in 2005, Culpepper would suffer a knee injury that damaged his ACL, MCL, and PCL that would derail his professional football for the remainder of his days. From 2006 to 2009, Culpepper would suit up for the Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, and Detriot Lions before taking his talents to the United Football League where he would play a single season for the Sacramento Mountain Lions before his official retirement from the game.
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."