Actress Hedy Lamar received a patent on August 11, 1942 for inventing a secret way of guiding torpedoes against the Nazi U boats that were wrecking havoc on the allies. "Frequency hopping." The American Physical Society has the story. Legend has it that Lamarr approached him for endocrinological advice, but the two soon began chatting about weapons, particularly radio-controlled torpedoes and how to protect them from jamming or interference.