Jack LaLanne, the Inventor

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I can’t die. It would ruin my image. Jack LaLanne

Fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne passed away this past weekend due to respiratory failure at the ripe age of 96. Despite being known to many people under 35 as the infomercial juicer salesman, LaLanne was most famously known for his long-running workout and entertainment program, “The Jack LaLanne Show.” It was fitness (not juice, specifically) that was his lifelong passion, inspiring him to do stunts pushing the mind’s boundaries. Here are a list of some of my favorite stunts of his:

• 1956 Age 42: Set a world record of 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes on “You Asked for It, a TV Show with Art Baker.
• 1975 Age 61: Swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater, for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat.
• 1984 Age 70: Handcuffed, shackled and fighting strong winds and currents, towed 70 boats with 70 people from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, 1 ½ miles.

Boy, he sure liked towing things!

In addition to these accomplishments, LaLanne was listed as the inventor on one US Patent…

US 3,752,473 lists Jack LaLanne as the sole inventor and the Jack LaLanne Company as the sole assignee of “WEIGHT LIFTING TYPE EXERCISER WITH INDICATOR.”

The main thrust of the invention is a chin-up bar connected to an adjustable weight pulley system, with the nice addition of a circular dial counter to count the number of repetitions the user has done.

Only 1,000 chin-ups left to go!

Here’s to you Jack LaLanne! Your indefatigable efforts live on, though you have passed away. Rest in peace.

This post was contributed by Intellogist Team member Chris Jagalla. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company, Landon IP, a major provider of patent search, technical translation, and information services.