johnson, lonnie

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johnson, lonnie

Whoosh!

Lonnie Johnson's super-soaking stream of inventions
Chronicles the life and achievements of the NASA engineer and inventor, from his childhood to his accidental invention of the Super Soaker water gun.

Super Soaker inventor Lonnie Johnson

As a kid, Lonnie Johnson liked to invent things. He often faced prejudice as an African American growing up in the segregated southern United States, but he eventually became an engineer for the US Air Force and NASA. He was working on a different invention when he came up with the idea for a new type of water gun. Johnson knew his toy was more powerful than other squirt guns---he just needed to find a way to make the Super Soaker available to kids all over the country. Learn how Johnson overcame many challenges to become a brilliant engineer and inventor.
Cover image of Super Soaker inventor Lonnie Johnson

Whoosh!

Lonnie Johnson's super-soaking stream of inventions
A biography of Lonnie Johnson, an engineer at NASA who is best know for inventing the Super Soaker water gun.

Whoosh!

Lonnie Johnson's super-soaking stream of inventions
Lonnie Johnson was always building things. As a kid he made rockets. As a teenager he built a robot from scratch. As an adult he worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the Galileo orbiter and probe that studied Jupiter. And then one day, while hooking up his latest invention to the bathroom sink to test it out...WHOOSH! Meet the innovative engineer who unexpectedly invented one of the most popular toys of all time - the Super Soaker.

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