Meet the man who invented the Super Soaker

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  • čas přidán 4. 09. 2017
  • The Super Soaker was a game changer when came to squirt guns and summer fun. And you have Lonnie Johnson to thank for it.The man behind one of the most popular toys of all time is an engineer who has worked for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Air Force, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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Komentáře • 275

  • @awesomeguy9573
    @awesomeguy9573 Před 6 lety +346

    This is the type of person that should get more recognition

  • @jacklonghearse9821
    @jacklonghearse9821 Před 6 lety +136

    This man is a national treasure.

  • @DemomanX614
    @DemomanX614 Před 3 lety +42

    He deserves a day named after him.
    Summer in the 90s wouldn't have been as cool without him.

  • @DarKKnightt07
    @DarKKnightt07 Před 5 lety +44

    The super soaker was a big part of my life and responsible for countless hours of fun as a kid. God bless this man may he live forever.

  • @theylied1776
    @theylied1776 Před 6 lety +336

    He's only telling half the story, because the company that produced Super Soaker and Nerf both tried to screw him out of his money. He took them to court and they both ended up regretting trying to screw him out of his royalties and Licensing fees.

    • @noone8673
      @noone8673 Před 5 lety +44

      They always trying to screw the black man!

    • @Easycooking422
      @Easycooking422 Před 5 lety +3

      Oh shit I didn't know that damn you gotta get it license first

    • @digitalvectordrawing318
      @digitalvectordrawing318 Před 5 lety +18

      His net worth is 300 million

    • @unnamed715
      @unnamed715 Před 5 lety +48

      @@noone8673 Uh, no. Race has nothing to do with it. Corporate greed is the problem. They do the same thing to white inventors. If you don't have a patent, you're fucked!

    • @Crunkboy415
      @Crunkboy415 Před 5 lety +9

      @@Easycooking422 More like a patent first, then you license it out to companies.

  • @Lostpanda123
    @Lostpanda123 Před 6 lety +53

    Yet so humble.

  • @kobaltrednovemberdelta1142
    @kobaltrednovemberdelta1142 Před 6 lety +99

    This man should be treated like a god for his invention.

  • @uryic000
    @uryic000 Před 5 lety +43

    Literally Heard Dr. Johnson speak at the local college last night. said everything he said here and lots more. about an hour lecture then he took questions from the audience. As a black man I felt nothing but pride listening to him. it was as though I was sitting in the presence of this generations George Washington Carver, Or even Alexander Graham Bell. Brilliant man.

  • @jasonspeer6864
    @jasonspeer6864 Před 6 lety +40

    Thank this man

  • @eclipsetoys6551
    @eclipsetoys6551 Před rokem +7

    I worked on the early Super Soakers from the 150-through another at least 2-25 models. I made the prototypes and worked with Lonnie for my last year in that project. A fun project. Lonnie was always a pretty quiet guy but in the way where you knew if he was looking at you he had already figured everything about you. I would think, when I walked behind him I could see ideas falling from his head and landing on the floor. He even was a candidate in the Astronaut program and did work on the Galileo Saturn probe, toys was just his. At any rate it was nice to work with a guy who through the years was akin to Captain Kirk!!!! cool guy

  • @erickruckenberg8716
    @erickruckenberg8716 Před 4 lety +6

    Can we just acknowledge everything we have because of this man? How many times we played with this invention, how many movies had a dumb funny scene that made your sides hurt. Even airsoft and paintball was affected by his airpressure tank designs! This man's invention has created massive subcultures with just one endeavor and its inspirational

  • @MrBlackdragon1230
    @MrBlackdragon1230 Před 6 lety +13

    That man was my childhood hero then since i had so many nerf dart guns and super soakers.

  • @ianchristophersaga2189
    @ianchristophersaga2189 Před 6 lety +10

    Thank you for making my childhood great!

  • @JeremyMPearce
    @JeremyMPearce Před 4 lety +24

    He is awesome! Could you imagine him being your dad! He’d be the coolest dad on the block by far!

  • @asperbergers7136
    @asperbergers7136 Před 4 lety +7

    A battery without a liquid electrolyte?! My grandfather has a patent for a battery, but what Lonnie is researching is world changing.

  • @celeste3761
    @celeste3761 Před 6 lety +6

    Salute to this man for making my childhood better!!!

  • @njones420
    @njones420 Před 5 lety +8

    i remember the summer the first supersoaker 50 came out..I was 10 years old :) it was an awesome long hot summer, and almost every kid I knew had one of these. They all broke within 12 months, and we all bought the bigger models the next year.

  • @LOLO-jj2by
    @LOLO-jj2by Před 4 lety +2

    Thanks Dr Lonnie Johnson FOR ALL YOUR INTELLECT AND INVENTIONS

  • @Buckettoli
    @Buckettoli Před 6 lety +40

    You could say he should have STAYED OFF THE HOOK
    HAHA FUNNY JOKE LMAYO

  • @kalel311superman9
    @kalel311superman9 Před 3 lety +3

    i had 2 or three of those super soakers i had a lot of fun back then, so i finally know who invented this awesome toy he needs more recognition....thank you sir....thank God for him

  • @WaddleYT
    @WaddleYT Před 6 lety +13

    I read about this guy in a SAT Writing passage xD

  • @DuluthTW
    @DuluthTW Před 6 lety +1

    This is such a great story made even better by learning that he reinvested his earnings into renewable energy products. I bought Super Soakers for my nephews when they were kids. Thanks for sharing!

  • @KNIGHTFOX80
    @KNIGHTFOX80 Před 28 dny

    Thank you for so much fun and so many good memories in my childhood.

  • @patrickpopp7714
    @patrickpopp7714 Před 6 lety +28

    Praise him

    • @bythetimeyoufinishedreadin9083
      @bythetimeyoufinishedreadin9083 Před 6 lety

      Will you're praising him, he's gonna be praising fried chicken.

    • @davidgn40
      @davidgn40 Před 5 lety

      @@bythetimeyoufinishedreadin9083 Damn bro, at least edit your comment to make grammatical sense.

    • @bythetimeyoufinishedreadin9083
      @bythetimeyoufinishedreadin9083 Před 5 lety

      @@davidgn40 That was 1 yr ago dude, I'm a changed man now.

    • @davidgn40
      @davidgn40 Před 5 lety

      @@bythetimeyoufinishedreadin9083 very understandable, hope you have a good day/ night.

  • @briang2471
    @briang2471 Před 2 lety +2

    Holy shit, Lon the Legend. As a proud former Super Soaker 100 owner in my childhood, this is the first time I've heard Lonnie's story, and I must say, I'm already feeling a parasocial relationship coming on. Jokes aside, Lon is an inspiration.

  • @STUDYALLAH365
    @STUDYALLAH365 Před 6 lety +5

    Only dude in my hood with the back pack bruh 👌🏾🤦🏾‍♂️🤙🏾

  • @podsmpsg1
    @podsmpsg1 Před 4 lety +6

    He's a genius.

  • @savagetaestheticknight221

    That's dope I used to have several super soakers.

  • @danielcesar664
    @danielcesar664 Před 6 lety +29

    Cool

  • @altdoom
    @altdoom Před 5 lety +2

    Thank you for making my childhood a blast.

  • @0theredqueen0
    @0theredqueen0 Před 6 lety +12

    He got me soaked 😛
    Love me a smart, sexy man.

  • @783jose
    @783jose Před 6 lety +3

    1:20 i ge a slap of nostalgia

  • @dacbiet
    @dacbiet Před 3 lety

    Thanks to this guy I had a great childhood.

  • @molinaafo
    @molinaafo Před 5 lety +1

    Thanks for making my childhood fun!

  • @rolandsalas
    @rolandsalas Před rokem +1

    Best water gun ever! Thank you Mr. Johnson.

  • @coby7696
    @coby7696 Před 6 lety +41

    Hate this guy he made me and my brother go to war
    Legend has it he is still getting sprayed down in a cage by a couple soarers connected to the sink
    Water bill is high asf #worth

  • @bras7855
    @bras7855 Před 6 lety +8

    This was actually pretty cool

  • @emmettnolan6017
    @emmettnolan6017 Před 6 lety +8

    I live in Alabama that dope

  • @micahmurphy4546
    @micahmurphy4546 Před 4 měsíci

    The man we all have to thank for a summer childhood

  • @williamworth2746
    @williamworth2746 Před 3 lety

    We need these back kids need to have fun and go outside and play

  • @curtdare8129
    @curtdare8129 Před 3 lety

    Thanks for this excellent invention.

  • @zennergoat8029
    @zennergoat8029 Před 4 lety +2

    This dude needs to be in the hall of hall of fames.

  • @gav240z
    @gav240z Před 2 lety +1

    What a story. Great to see he's used the profits for great things

  • @gold4963
    @gold4963 Před 6 lety +1

    A legend. A king. His name is Lonnie Johnson.

  • @hullinstruments
    @hullinstruments Před 2 lety

    I had no idea this guy used to work at Oak Ridge also, I knew he worked at NASA but I wasn’t familiar with Oak Ridge. That’s the next city over from where I was born and raised, and it’s still my hometown today.
    My grandfather had them as one of his main big clients. He used to sell precision cutting and measuring equipment back before big companies and huge corporations were around doing that stuff. And Oakridge was one of his main clients.

  • @jeremyzisman2628
    @jeremyzisman2628 Před 2 lety

    I use to play with those guns when I was a child amazing he is a great man

  • @divergentevolution8114
    @divergentevolution8114 Před 6 lety +3

    They also make a hell of a flame thrower!

  • @martelmichaels3511
    @martelmichaels3511 Před 3 lety +3

    He deserves Nobel prize

  • @Minfiget
    @Minfiget Před 5 lety +1

    Legend so many waterfights and laughter around the world when super soaker 50 was released I'm sure the phrase my mum said I'm not aloud to get wet was due to the super soaker lol

  • @dragonballa5083
    @dragonballa5083 Před 2 lety

    Thanks for being a part of my childhood! 😁

  • @noge6350
    @noge6350 Před 6 lety +1

    Great man, great Einstellung

  • @namelessjuan4696
    @namelessjuan4696 Před 6 lety

    I still have this!

  • @jyothia3958
    @jyothia3958 Před 5 lety +2

    King of toy guns!!!!

  • @rileyfigueroa4273
    @rileyfigueroa4273 Před 3 lety

    I did not know that and it looks really cool.and this is my work to do..

  • @dynamitedingo7720
    @dynamitedingo7720 Před rokem

    This man is living history

  • @statisticalstat
    @statisticalstat Před 2 lety

    This guy is a legend.

  • @CYYB3RMISTER
    @CYYB3RMISTER Před 6 lety +1

    Thank you for my childhood

  • @manveerkaur6373
    @manveerkaur6373 Před 6 lety

    Good idea of the maker of the Super Soaker

  • @DankDaddyPotato
    @DankDaddyPotato Před 6 lety +8

    I'm in the on time squad

    • @CruzShip23
      @CruzShip23 Před 6 lety

      Daniel Guo you're late actually

  • @jeffridge3727
    @jeffridge3727 Před 3 lety +1

    Legend

  • @rileycook7686
    @rileycook7686 Před 3 lety +1

    What a legend

  • @oscarherreraherrera8245

    I learn about you at school I love your inventin

  • @flame-sky7148
    @flame-sky7148 Před 5 lety

    Great Man Great Mind

  • @pcm1997
    @pcm1997 Před 3 lety

    Love super soaker..true Hero

  • @martelmichaels3511
    @martelmichaels3511 Před 3 lety +1

    Now he’s working on super soakers of Mass distraction 😂👍🚀

  • @simongillblad6740
    @simongillblad6740 Před 6 lety +1

    HARD WORK DEDICATION

  • @oogs9114
    @oogs9114 Před 2 lety

    This guys brain is priceless

  • @williamdixon7616
    @williamdixon7616 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Lonnie's a Cool Dude

  • @fernandob2139
    @fernandob2139 Před 5 lety

    Bring themmmmmmmm back !!!!!!!°°

  • @TxBlue454
    @TxBlue454 Před 4 lety

    I owe this man for so many fond memories as a kid...come to think of it, I got my ass whooped a lot because of his products. Oh well, thanks for making such cool toys!

  • @mariamariner23
    @mariamariner23 Před 6 lety

    THIS BOY IS AMBITIOUS YAS BOY GOALS

  • @janjoson3843
    @janjoson3843 Před 4 lety

    Awe man I was so fond of our Super soaker back in the day. Now I am a parent, I share those old school memories with my children. And May I say that Mr Johnson ought to be an inspiration to all including us minorities. For get athletes. We should aspire to be successful through discipline and hard work that Mr Johnson put in.

  • @creative_cooper
    @creative_cooper Před 6 lety +25

    Seen this story before on some other channel 🤔

  • @frankiegunnz8066
    @frankiegunnz8066 Před měsícem

    Wow so much great NYC memories In the 90's with my Super Soaker 50. The fact he Is a Black man makes It so much cooler. Thank you sir!

  • @tommymichalski9989
    @tommymichalski9989 Před 5 lety

    wow childhood hero

  • @danielkirk2306
    @danielkirk2306 Před 2 lety

    This man should be idolized more than today's celebrities

  • @dylant8056
    @dylant8056 Před 6 lety

    Damn. Me, eating a hot pocket

  • @spinecharmer480
    @spinecharmer480 Před 2 lety

    This guy is so cool

  • @Joker-Fam-Fahim
    @Joker-Fam-Fahim Před rokem

    Why did they stop making them I loved it as a kid ????

  • @Hunta_Mann
    @Hunta_Mann Před 6 lety

    Woomy!

  • @jamesgarlick4573
    @jamesgarlick4573 Před 4 lety

    I want to know more about his engine that converts heat into electricity, one of the hurdles that we have for achieving space battle level tech in our society is the overheating issue since space is really hard to dissipate heat away from ships. If it is converted from heat to electricity, then you kill two birds with one stone

  • @macberry4048
    @macberry4048 Před 2 měsíci

    Guess what technology just became super popular. " Heat pumps"

  • @KidsoFQueenS
    @KidsoFQueenS Před 4 lety +1

    As a kid I turned down a brand new bike for a Super Soaker. Literally the hottest thing on the market.

  • @triple_lei
    @triple_lei Před 2 lety

    Yeah science!

  • @ghostfacepanda
    @ghostfacepanda Před 2 lety

    Give him the Nobel prize.

  • @Cousinskeeter1
    @Cousinskeeter1 Před 5 lety

    Lol I love super soakers I owned one when I was a kid and when I got bored with it i used to get the yellow tank, put it on the end of a mop stick and Waco stone man do they fly the amount that got smashed 😂

  • @timothyandrewnielsen
    @timothyandrewnielsen Před 5 lety +1

    Freaking legend. My sisters eyeballs hate you, though.

  • @enriquelopez2232
    @enriquelopez2232 Před 6 lety +5

    But Great Big Story already did this?

  • @LoireValleyChateaux
    @LoireValleyChateaux Před 3 lety +3

    Nice!
    He did something with his talent without relying on religion, race, color, jealousy, envy, or reparations to separate him from everyone else!

  • @asluachlu6241
    @asluachlu6241 Před 6 lety

    nice channel

  • @mariamariner23
    @mariamariner23 Před 6 lety

    THIS MAN IS 0 -100 YAS BOY !!! BOSS BOSS MONEY MOVES

  • @michaeltrevino201
    @michaeltrevino201 Před 3 lety

    Oh so you're a f'n genius

  • @Felamine
    @Felamine Před rokem

    This man is a true scientist. Instead of using his Super Soaker money to retire to some tropical paradise and live the good life, he uses it to fund more research and development.

  • @RetroVikingr89
    @RetroVikingr89 Před 6 lety

    This dude is cool.

  • @Kensworld28
    @Kensworld28 Před 6 lety +71

    Not trying to be that guy but...
    wow I'm so happy that he's African American!!!

  • @blacktoastmcbiscut8650

    So this is the guy who made the Oozinator..

  • @Swagbosses7
    @Swagbosses7 Před 2 lety

    He's the goat 🐐 of toy guns 🔫 💪

  • @Jojo-bt1uf
    @Jojo-bt1uf Před 6 lety

    damn son

  • @Pjiggy
    @Pjiggy Před 3 lety +1

    A BLACK MAN INVENTED SUPER SOAKER! Literally just made my teenage years so much more impactful!

  • @Magicalmadokakaname
    @Magicalmadokakaname Před 4 lety

    SoAkInG wEt!!!!