The super soaking wet fun gun and a lot more to come, Oh Yeah! I must say this man not only had an idea but a jolly good one; The Water gun, no not that little puny pistol thing that spewed water uneventfully at some poor sucker. But the Super soaker water gun. Yeah, hit me with your best shot. Running around corners, dodging your opponent pressurized stream of retaliation. That is what makes a water gun a super soaker. It is the pressurized stream of water that can shoot our up to 45 feet away. So who is responsible for this wet and wild fun? Well none other than Lonnie G. Johnson, an African American born October 6th 1949.
Johnson loved inventing gadgets from an early age. He actually invented his own remote controlled robot called linex. Imagine the success if had stuck with that one. Well, he moved on to the nuclear engineer field graduating from Tuskegee University with a BS in Mechanical engineering. He earned his master’s in Nuclear Engineering in 1974 and a PHD in science. Just a few years later he invented the “Power Drencher” in 1988. It was the first air pressured water gun. In 1989 Johnson started his own engineering firm and licensed his latest invention. In just two years of licensing his Power drencher, it generated more than $200 million dollars in net sales.
His corporation, Larami Corporation was then purchased by Hasbro. Hasbro is still the 2nd largest toy company in the world. In 1991 Johnson received his patent and the Power Drencher was officially remained “The Super Soaker”. Johnson is not only an inventor but also serves on the board of directors for “Georgia’s Alliance for Children” which was formed to protect and give a voice to children less fortunate. He is also a board of director of the Commonwealth National Bank and is a member of the “Hank Aron Chasing the dream foundation”.
Lonnie Johnson has over 80 patents and has over 20 pending to date. He founded the Johnson Research and Development Co ,Inc. and several other LLCs including Johnson Real Estate Investment, LLC. His Excellatron Solid State and Johnson Electro –Mechanical Systems (JEMS) are developing new energy products such as the new thin film batteries. These batteries are much more effective, efficient and less harmful waste accumulation like that of the Li-Ion batteries. His firm has also invented the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter System (JTEC) which was published in Popular Mechanics as one of the 10 best useful inventions of 2008. This power converts thermal energy into electric energy using steam which pushes Hydrogen through two membranes. This system is supposed to be better than the available system being used today.
His town of Marietta, Georgia is so proud of their native son that they named February 25th 1994, “Lonnie Johnson G day”. With all his accomplishments it would take a life time for some to accomplish merely ¼ of what he has. With so many patents pending, who knows what invention tomorrow may bring, even after his death, we may be witnessing a marvel of a man.
How can I contact Lonnie G. Johnson? I have an idea for a patent.