1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: show that discovers something new about history every day of 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: the week. I'm Gabe Bluesier, and today we're talking about 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: two time National Toy Hall of Famer Lonnie Johnson, the 6 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: man behind both the super Soaker and the nerf Gun. 7 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: The day was May twenty seventh, nineteen eighty six, American 8 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: inventor Lonnie Johnson received a patent for the iconic super 9 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: Soaker water gun. The illiterative name wasn't present in the 10 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: patent itself, which refers to the toy simply as a 11 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 1: squirt gun, but there's no mistaking the device outlined in 12 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: the abstract. It mentions a nozzle for ejecting water at 13 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: high velocity, a pressurization pump for compressing air into the gun, 14 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: and a trigger for shooting the pressurized water through the nozzle. 15 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: After a few design tweaks and a couple of name changes, 16 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: Johnson's super Soaker would become the top selling water toy 17 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: of all time and the tool of choice for drenching 18 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: your friends and family in the nineteen nineties. Born on 19 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: October sixth, nineteen forty nine and Mobile, Alabama. Lonnie Johnson 20 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: took an early interest in science. He was inspired by 21 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: fellow Black innovator George Washington Carver, and would often design 22 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: and build toys and other gadgets to entertain his friends. 23 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: One of his proudest early achievements was building a compressed 24 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 1: air powered robot out of scrap. In nineteen sixty eight, 25 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: Johnson entered his mechanical creation, dubbed LINEX, in a junior 26 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: engineering science fair held at the University of Alabama. His 27 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: team represented the all black Williamson High School in Mobile 28 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: and was the only black school to be featured at 29 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: the fair. He wound up winning first prize in the 30 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 1: competition and was able to parlay that win, along with 31 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: his sterling academic record, into a maths scholarship at the 32 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: prestigious Tuskegee University. Johnson went on to earn his Bachelor 33 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: of Science degree in mechanical engineering in nineteen seventy three, 34 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: and two years after that he completed a Master of 35 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: Science degree in nuclear engineering. After graduation, Johnson worked as 36 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: a research engineer at Oakridge National Laboratory and then joined 37 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: the US Air Force, where he helped develop the B 38 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 1: fifty two stealth bomber. In nineteen seventy nine, he moved 39 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and worked 40 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: as the senior systems engineer on the Galileo mission to Jupiter. 41 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: Three years later, he returned to the Air Force, and 42 00:02:56,919 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: it was during this period that the idea for the 43 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: super soap was born. Like many classic inventions, the super 44 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: soaker was born of an accident. A lifelong tinkerer, Johnson 45 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: often worked on his own projects in his spare time, 46 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: sometimes with the intent of creating a commercial product, but 47 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: often just for the fun of it. In nineteen eighty two, 48 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,359 Speaker 1: his pet project was to develop a heat pump that 49 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: used pressurized water vapor to absorb heat from the air 50 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 1: instead of the environmentally harmful free on that was commonly 51 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: used at the time. He tested the prototype in his basement, 52 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: hooking the nozzle to his bathroom sink and aiming it 53 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: at the bathtub. When he pulled the lever, a powerful 54 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: stream of water shot across the room, and he immediately 55 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: realized that the device would make a great squirt gun. 56 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: He set the idea aside for the time being, but 57 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: later circled back to it as a potential way to 58 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: fund his other, more scientifically rigorous projects. He eventually built 59 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: a prototype gun out of place lexiglass, complete with a 60 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: built in air pressure chamber and a reservoir to hold 61 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: the water. The use of pressurized air set Johnson's design 62 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: apart from other squirt guns on the market, allowing it 63 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: to shoot further, faster, and with more force than the 64 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: traditional water gun. Here's how it worked. By pumping an 65 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: external piston, the user forced air into the pressure chamber. 66 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: Then when they opened the release valve by squeezing the trigger, 67 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: some of that compressed air would escape, pushing the water 68 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: down the barrel and ejecting it from the nozzle at 69 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: high speed. The original prototype wasn't much to look at, 70 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: as it lacked the bright neon colors that would make 71 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: the final design such a standout on store shelves, but 72 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: it could still shoot better than anything on the market, 73 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 1: with a max range of nearly fifty feet. Johnson's young daughter, Anika, 74 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: had such a blast playing with the prototype on the 75 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: Air Force base that he applied for a UA this 76 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: patent on October fourteenth, nineteen eighty three, and began looking 77 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: for a toy company to help produce it. His initial 78 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: idea was to market the squirt gun as a space 79 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: themed blaster. The patent description even mentions a water powered 80 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: sound generator that would produce quote futuristic space ray gun 81 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:24,600 Speaker 1: sound effects when the gun is shooting. However, those ideas 82 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,679 Speaker 1: would later be dropped, as a pump action water gun 83 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: was appealing enough without the bells and whistles. That said, 84 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: finding a manufacturer for the toy proved harder than Johnson expected. 85 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: Even after being granted a patent on May twenty seventh, 86 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty six, he still struggled to find a production partner. 87 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: Part of the problem was that the American market for 88 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: toy weaponry had cooled significantly in the wake of a 89 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: series of real world events involving toy guns being mistaken 90 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: for the real thing. With new legal restrictions placed on 91 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: how realists a toy could be, companies were suddenly hesitant 92 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: to invest in new products that might be disapproved of 93 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: by parents or even lead to bands or lawsuits. With 94 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: progress stalled on the super Soaker, Johnson returned to work 95 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in nineteen eighty seven. There 96 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,679 Speaker 1: He helped develop the Mars Observer spacecraft for a research 97 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: mission to the Red planet, and also worked on the 98 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: Cassini probe that would later explore Saturn and its moons. 99 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: Johnson also spent some time fine tuning the design of 100 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: his water gun. The most notable change was repositioning the 101 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: water reservoir, moving it from inside the gun to a 102 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: separate container that could be attached horizontally on the top. 103 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:49,919 Speaker 1: This seemingly minor change made a world of difference for starters. 104 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 1: It made it easier to reload the water gun while 105 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:58,159 Speaker 1: also increasing its overall capacity. A detachable reservoir also made 106 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: the gun much cheaper to produce, and as an added bonus, 107 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: it made the toy far less likely to be mistaken 108 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: for a real weapon thanks to the big plastic bottle 109 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: mounted on top. Despite these improvements, though, it wasn't until 110 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine that Johnson found a toy company willing 111 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: to take a shot on his invention. Laramie Toys in 112 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: Philadelphia was finally sold on the concept after Johnson gave 113 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: the company president to demonstration by sharp shooting paper cups 114 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: off a table from across the room. They signed a 115 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: licensing deal, and Johnson spent the rest of the year 116 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: working with Laramie product developer Bruce Dondrade to perfect the 117 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: gun's design. Finally, in nineteen ninety the toy hit store 118 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: shelves under the name Power Drencher. The now familiar safety 119 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: compliant color scheme was there from the start, with its 120 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: day glow yellow stock, lime green reservoir, and white barrel 121 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: with an orange tip, but the branding seemed to make 122 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: a difference. As sales of the Power Drencher failed to impress. 123 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: A change was clearly needed, so the following year, the 124 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: company switched the name to Super Soaker and launched a 125 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: TV ad campaign to get the word out. The rebranding 126 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: paid off, and sales soared to two million units in 127 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety one alone. The next year, it became the 128 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: best selling toy in the world, with the base model, 129 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: the Super Soaker fifty, retailing for just ten dollars. Other 130 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: higher capacity models were quickly added to the line, and 131 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: by nineteen ninety five, the Super Soaker had generated more 132 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: than two hundred million dollars in sales. That number would 133 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: double by the product's tenth anniversary, prompting toy giant Hasbro 134 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 1: to acquire Laramie and the rights to its water gun 135 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,839 Speaker 1: cash Cow in two thousand and two. To this day, 136 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: Hasbro continues to release new models of super Soakers as 137 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:01,319 Speaker 1: part of its popular NERF product line. Lonnie Johnson still 138 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: received royalties for every super Soaker sold. The same is 139 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 1: also true for NERF Dart blasters, because oh Yeah, Johnson 140 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: invented those two. The pressurized air system that launches the 141 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: foam darts is based on his patents. Lonnie Johnson didn't 142 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: set out to become a legendary toy maker, but the 143 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 1: financial success of NERF guns and super Soakers allowed him 144 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: to start his own companies where he could research and 145 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: develop any project he wanted. As a result, he now 146 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: holds more than one hundred and thirty US patents on 147 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: everything from a wet diaper detector to a new kind 148 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 1: of lithium battery. Johnson's impressive career highlights the importance of 149 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: nurturing children's interests in science, technology, engineering, and math, because 150 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,960 Speaker 1: a child who builds go karts and robots in his 151 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: youth might grow up to help launch spacecraft or design 152 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: the perfect sport gun, or even both. I'm Gabe bluesyay, 153 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 154 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep 155 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,600 Speaker 1: up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 156 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 157 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, feel free to send them my 158 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 1: way by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 159 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 1: Thanks to Kasby Bias for producing the show, and thanks 160 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 161 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in History class.