New Exhibit on Display at the Smithsonian :-)

US Patent 5255452 A: "Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion"

In the "Smooth Criminal' video, the centerpiece of the wonderfully bizarre film Moonwalker (1988), the impossible lean was accomplished with wires, but to recreate the effect during live performances, Jackson worked with two designers to develop a "method and means for creating [an] anti-gravity illusion." This signature move (among many others) was made possible by a patent for a shoe allowing the “wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity.” Though it looks like a regular loafer when worn with long pants, the shoe is actually strapped around the ankle to secure it to the dancer's foot - but the real secret is in the heel, which conceals a slot that can lock into a small post raised on stage. Dancers click their heels into place at just the right time and–-boom–-you've been hit by a smooth criminal. It's a brief moment, but it's one of the most iconic images of Michael Jackson's career and American pop culture.



Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/michael-jackson-singer-songwriter-american-inventor-180950165/#0OE3LlfRgobubM29.99
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Singer, Song Writer, Choreographer, Actor, Director, Activist ....and American Inventor   

("Jack of all trades...master of none"  hmph....who started such words to deter greatness? Ode to to the multi-talented and ode  to multi- excellence!) 

US Patent 5255452 A: "Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion" 

 

In the "Smooth Criminal' video, the centerpiece of the wonderfully bizarre film Moonwalker (1988), the impossible lean was accomplished with wires, but to recreate the effect during live performances, Jackson worked with two designers to develop a "method and means for creating [an] anti-gravity illusion." This signature move (among many others) was made possible by a patent for a shoe allowing the “wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity.” Though it looks like a regular loafer when worn with long pants, the shoe is actually strapped around the ankle to secure it to the dancer's foot - but the real secret is in the heel, which conceals a slot that can lock into a small post raised on stage. Dancers click their heels into place at just the right time and–-boom–-you've been hit by a smooth criminal. It's a brief moment, but it's one of the most iconic images of Michael Jackson's career and American pop culture.

US Patent 5255452 A: "Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion"

In the "Smooth Criminal' video, the centerpiece of the wonderfully bizarre film Moonwalker (1988), the impossible lean was accomplished with wires, but to recreate the effect during live performances, Jackson worked with two designers to develop a "method and means for creating [an] anti-gravity illusion." This signature move (among many others) was made possible by a patent for a shoe allowing the “wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity.” Though it looks like a regular loafer when worn with long pants, the shoe is actually strapped around the ankle to secure it to the dancer's foot - but the real secret is in the heel, which conceals a slot that can lock into a small post raised on stage. Dancers click their heels into place at just the right time and–-boom–-you've been hit by a smooth criminal. It's a brief moment, but it's one of the most iconic images of Michael Jackson's career and American pop culture.



Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/michael-jackson-singer-songwriter-american-inventor-180950165/#0OE3LlfRgobubM29.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

US Patent 5255452 A: "Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion"

In the "Smooth Criminal' video, the centerpiece of the wonderfully bizarre film Moonwalker (1988), the impossible lean was accomplished with wires, but to recreate the effect during live performances, Jackson worked with two designers to develop a "method and means for creating [an] anti-gravity illusion." This signature move (among many others) was made possible by a patent for a shoe allowing the “wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity.” Though it looks like a regular loafer when worn with long pants, the shoe is actually strapped around the ankle to secure it to the dancer's foot - but the real secret is in the heel, which conceals a slot that can lock into a small post raised on stage. Dancers click their heels into place at just the right time and–-boom–-you've been hit by a smooth criminal. It's a brief moment, but it's one of the most iconic images of Michael Jackson's career and American pop culture.


Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/michael-jackson-singer-songwriter-american-inventor-180950165/#0OE3LlfRgobubM29.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

US Patent 5255452 A: "Method and means for creating anti-grav


Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/michael-jackson-singer-songwriter-american-inventor-180950165/#0OE3LlfRgobubM29.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

Michael Jackson's patent, and more importantly, his signature is on display as part of a new exhibition at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. "Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures," invites visitors to examine the signatures on historic documents and imagine the moment they were signed, moments that have shaped America's history and defined its culture. No one has a signature that is exactly the same every time its written, but a signature's variability is part of what reveals it to be authentic; each signature is a unique product of the time and place it was written. Other notable signatories on display as part of the exhibition include founding fathers such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, whose documents tell the story of a young nation in rebellion against King George III. But they are in good company with the King of Pop, whose signed patent reveals that his inventiveness extended beyond creating sweet dance moves. 


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