The idea that Bill Nye the Science Guy invented something isn’t all that surprising. It’s the fact that what he invented is a more comfortable version of ballet toe shoes that made us do a double-take. Apparently after filming an episode of his show at the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Nye became interested in how to help dancers dance en pointe with less pain. How nice!
He’s just one of the many celebrity patent holders featured over in Gadget Lab’s fascinating roundup, which also includes Julie Newmar’s clever “Cheeky Derriere Relief” (“a pantyhose system that helped flatten a woman’s abdomen while also rounding out her butt”), Francis Ford Coppola’s itch-inspired “Garment For Identifying Location on Body of the Garment Wearer,” and Paula Abdul’s “Dynamic Microphone Support Apparatus” — which looks like what would happen if a normal mic stand made babies with a wobble board. Head over to Wired’s website to check all of their inventions out now.