Archie Manning, the son of Buddy Manning, and the father of, Peyton and Eli Manning the best brother quarterback duo in NFL history, is next up on the list. While he might not be as revered for his professional football career as his sons are, Archie did have a promising career in baseball after being drafted a total of four times. The first time Manning was drafted it was by the Atlanta Braves in 1967, he would then go on to be drafted twice by the Chicago White Sox, and lastly by the Kansas City Royals in 1971, the same year he was drafted into the NFL. Manning attended the University of Mississippi where he started at the quarterback for three consecutive seasons. Manning was named SEC Player of the Year and First-Team All-American for the 1969 NCAA Football season.
After a successful career with the Ole Miss Rebels, Archie Manning would go on to be selected 2nd overall in the 1971 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints where he would play the first ten seasons of his NFL career. Unfortunately, Manning and the Saints would suffer nine losing seasons out of those ten, but become one of the most respected pass throwers in the league amongst his peers. In 1978 and 1979, Manning was selected for the Pro Bowl and ended his career playing seasons with the Houston Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings. With a win-loss record of 35-101-3 and a career passer rating of 67.1, Manning as an individual was a better football player than any team he was a part of.
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."