# People you may not know have a patent **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 24, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250 "2019-10-24T19:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2019, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/21 "2019-10-24T23:01:11Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > The idea behind Jackson’s shoes was that they were completely hidden and did not hinder normal walking and dancing. When needed, the singers lined up along a faint line on the stage and slid the shoes into the fixed cleats, all as part of the choreography. They all leaned forward together and the audience was astonished at the result. > > Dennis [You mean like this?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGbfs6HZDNo&t=2m20s) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/22 "2019-10-25T04:16:44Z")
Gary Burghoff (aka Radar on MASH) is an avid fisherman and has several patents for fishing equipment he designed. He also invented a device you can carry around and use to lift public toilet seats. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/23 "2019-10-25T05:00:03Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > [You mean like this?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGbfs6HZDNo&t=2m20s) Nah, the camera cuts away ad they nail Mr Tin to the stage. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/24 "2019-10-25T05:09:28Z")
[Grampa Simpson voice]I’ve a patent![/Grampa Simpson voice] ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/25 "2019-10-26T20:02:16Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Me. Kinda. > > Well, me and the rest of the team. Dates back to my time as a lab worker. Named as inventor on the patent and given a ceremonial one pound note\* (which I probably still have somewhere, and which I think related in some way to my formally handing over all intellectual property rights to my employer. Though I think they owned them anyway.) > > j > > - > - yep, that long ago. Me too. Same story, from my postdoc days. Have several but they all stem from the same work. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/26 "2019-10-26T22:10:48Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > In my haste to trumpet my own achievements I had not read the article about Michael Jackson and his “specially designed shoes that gave the illusion of his leaning beyond his center of gravity.” > > Interesting. [This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFB4oHajwGw) claims to date from 1900. Believable, as it’s subject died in 1928. > > Incidentally, it’s from Little Titch that we get the words titch, titchy etc (at least according to Stephen Fry on QI). > > j Good grief. At lease 2/3s of his “dance” are him just putting on his shoes. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/27 "2019-10-26T23:37:03Z")
Lorne Greene, while a CBC broadcaster, patented a reversed ‘countdown’ stopwatch showing remaining time. > **[Lorne Greene - Biography - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001296/bio/)** > > Lorne Greene. Actor: Bonanza. Lorne Greene was born Lyon Himan "Chaim" Green on February 12, 1915, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He began acting while attending Canada's Queen's University, and after graduation got a job in radio broadcasting. His... > [@](#): > > He was the original inventor of the count-down clock that allowed a show, in filming, to know how much time was remaining in each segment of filming and in the total length of the show. This allowed the directors and actors to know how much time they had in which to complete a program or segment. His patent was the source of some wealth in the pre-computer era of filming. But let’s go macro-scale: 27 Patent-Holding Celebrity Inventors > **[27 Patent-Holding Celebrity Inventors](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52444/27-celebrity-patent-holders)** > > A number of well-known public figures hold patents for various innovations. Here are a few of our favorites. Eddie Van Halen, James Cameron, Abraham Lincoln, Steve McQueen, Bill Nye, Jamie Lee Curtis, George Lucas, Hedy Lamarr [with George Antheil], Francis Ford Coppola, Prince, Penn Jillette, Paula Abdul, Marlon Brando, Andy Warhol, Lawrence Welk, Zeppo Marx, Christie Brinkley, Michael Jackson, Gary Burghoff [“Radar”], Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Steven Spielberg, Julie Newmar, Neil Young, Kurt Vonnegut Sr., Charles Fleischer [“Roger Rabbit”], Jamie Hyneman [“MythBusters”] ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/28 "2019-10-26T23:49:24Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Michael Jackson Ha. So that’s how it was done. Was always trying to figure out the trick as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/29 "2019-10-26T23:55:40Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Lorne Greene, while a CBC broadcaster, patented a reversed ‘countdown’ stopwatch showing remaining time. > [Lorne Greene - Biography - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001296/bio) > > But let’s go macro-scale: 27 Patent-Holding Celebrity Inventors > [27 Patent-Holding Celebrity Inventors | Mental Floss](http://mentalfloss.com/article/52444/27-celebrity-patent-holders) > > Eddie Van Halen, James Cameron, Abraham Lincoln, Steve McQueen, Bill Nye, Jamie Lee Curtis, George Lucas, Hedy Lamarr [with George Antheil], Francis Ford Coppola, Prince, Penn Jillette, Paula Abdul, Marlon Brando, Andy Warhol, Lawrence Welk, Zeppo Marx, Christie Brinkley, Michael Jackson, Gary Burghoff [“Radar”], **Albert Einstein,** Mark Twain, Steven Spielberg, Julie Newmar, Neil Young, Kurt Vonnegut Sr., Charles Fleischer [“Roger Rabbit”], Jamie Hyneman [“MythBusters”] [my bold] Did he mail the application to his own desk at the patent office in Bern? ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2019, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/30 "2019-10-27T12:32:06Z")
My dad, a nationally certified archery coach, has a patent, with a couple of other guys, for a device that does something for the tension on compound bows. Shortly after they developed it, compound bow companies did something to eliminate the problem Dad’s device solved. so the patent is basically useless.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/31 "2019-10-28T01:09:11Z")
My name is included on a few patents. I didn’t really do much other than provide technical advice. They’re assigned to my employer, of course, but they paid me some very nice extra money for several months due to the patent award. Honestly, I’m not really the inventor other than saying we could do x, y, and z. Either getting a patent is a really low bar, or I’m not giving myself enough credit. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/32 "2019-10-28T21:17:33Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > [Hedy Lamarr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr#Inventor) Everyone in IEEE know about her stuff, since they find a reason to run an article about her every couple of years in Spectrum. If you’re IEEE you take the sex appeal where you can get it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250/33 "2019-10-29T18:04:05Z")
As of last week, I’ve just learned, I now have _Five_ patents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-may-not-know-have-a-patent/842250.md?page=1)