Aside from this, he is also a scientist and the owner of two companies. He’s also the guy who came up with a massively popular toy called the Super Soaker — dreaming it up one day while tinkering on a heat pump idea in his bathroom. Johnson and his development group made the news in 2013 because the outcome of a 3 year lawsuit regarding the infringement of patent rights against Hasbro was arbitrated in his favor and Johnson was given a $73 million royalty for his product because Hasbro created … One of his proudest inventions to date is a robot he built in high school. I destroy a bunch of stuff in slow motion and talk to the inventor of the Super Soaker Lonnie Johnson. "I was experimenting with some nozzles that I machined, and I shot a stream of water across the bathroom and I thought, 'Geez, maybe I should put this hard science stuff aside and work on something fun like a water gun. Today, Johnson is working to encourage students to pursue their interests in STEM. (CNN)Dr. Lonnie Johnson might be one of the most brilliant inventors of our time. Explore all Nerf Super Soaker blasters and accessories in the shop! "When I came up for the idea for the water gun, I was working on something else," Johnson recalls. Get to know engineer Lonnie Johnson, founder and president of Johnson Research and Development Co., who invented the wildly-popular Super Soaker water gun, worked on high-performance Nerf dart guns, and focuses today on inventions related to clean energy. He invented the Super Soaker water gun in 1990, which has been among the world's bestselling toys ever since. Life. Lonnie Johnson, inventor of Super Soaker a large plastic pump-action water gun, holding his invention & its US patent while sitting on grass outside his … Johnson went on to join the Air Force, which would eventually lead him to his time at NASA. The Atlanta-based company behind the Super Soaker water gun and Nerf toy guns has been awarded nearly $73 million in royalties from toymaker Hasbro … The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by engineer Lonnie Johnson. Johnson continued to pursue his own inventions in his spare time, being one of them an environmentally friendly heat pump that used water instead of Freon. He is also continuing to tinker with new inventions with his team at Johnson Battery Technologies. Still, he knows that people will forever remember him for his contributions to their childhood. "It was a quick refill, self-refilling water gun. Meet Lonnie Johnson Super Soaker Creator, An Atlanta-based company behind the Super Soaker water gun and Nerf toy guns have been awarded nearly $73 million in royalties from toymaker Hasbro Inc., according to the law firm King & Spalding. "After I had done some analysis for the Air Force, I predicted some things that NASA had gone on record to say could not happen," Johnson says. The Super Soaker was a game changer when came to squirt guns and summer fun. And you have Lonnie Johnson to thank for it. And you have Lonnie Johnson to thank for it.. So, were there any Super Soaker ideas that didn't make it? Nerf guns, or if you go by the terminology of the company and use a Nerf blaster, were invented by Lonnie Johnson. As a child, Lonnie adored creating and building different things. "So, when we went to the University of Alabama, that was a totally different environment, everyone there was White except for us, and the fact that I was there with my robot to me was a victory in itself." This wasn't the engineer's first foray into toy-making. One team he helps, DISCbots, is made up of refugees from nine countries. (Tweaks to the Super Soaker years later led Johnson to invent the Nerf gun.) 1 selling toy in the world. That one really never made it to the market.". In 2013, Johnson filed suit against Hasbro after learning that he was being underpaid royalties for the Super Soaker and several Nerf toys, and was awarded nearly $73 million in arbitration. That's what I do. This would foreshadow a later (very popular) invention. When Hasbro bought Larami in 1995, Johnson branched out and began designing Nerf blasters too, with some of his concepts that are still in use today.[2]. The scientist and engineer is responsible for over 100 patents, including a thermoelectric energy convertor and a thin film lithium battery. One of his first jobs after school was at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, working on cooling systems for nuclear reactors. ... Johnson went on to create other toys, including the NERF gun. I actually couldn't tell my wife what I was working on in the daytime, it was that top secret.". He also invented the Nerf Gun when he patented "a pneumatic launcher for a toy projectile" which revolutionised toy blasters. Super Soaker is a brand of recreational water gun that uses manually-pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt pistols. One of his earliest toy creations was building chinaberry guns with his friends using a mop and hollowed out bamboo tubing. According to his lawyers, Johnson has been embroiled in a royalty dispute with Hasbro since February, when he filed a claim against them. That wasn't the only victory he would walk away with that day -- Johnson, and Linex, were awarded first place. This year marks the 30th anniversary of when the Super Soaker story truly began to take shape. Super Soakers were created by Lonnie Johnson, a brilliant and creative inventor and nuclear engineer who was inspired to create a kid’s water gun during his time in the U.S. Air Force. "Then, I left there and went out to Edwards Air Force Base, worked on the Stealth Bomber program back when it was highly classified, and nobody knew that it existed. Nerf guns and super soaker guns became one of the best-selling toys in history – generating $200 million in … Johnson Research and Development Co. and founder Lonnie Johnson, creator of the Super Soaker water gun and Nerf toy guns, has been awarded millions in royalties from the giant toy company Hasbro Inc. Lonnie Johnson is a former Air Force and NASA engineer who invented the massively popular Super Soaker water gun. Since he was a child, his curiosity has been a prominent trace of his personality, going from building a go-kart from a lawnmower engine attached to a box, to almost burning his own house down while trying to produce rocket fuel. He is most famous for creating the Super Soaker and the NERF gun. But his most famous invention? Head outdoors and head into a deluge of splashtastic fun with Nerf Super Soaker water blasters. ", This NASA genius invented the Super Soaker. "Some of my most famous patents are for the Nerf guns and Super Soakers," Johnson says. Lonnie Johnson, inventor of Super Soaker a large plastic pump-action water gun, holding his invention & its US patent while sitting on grass outside his home. "I've been an inventor, I think, for all my life," Johnson says. One of the best toys of the 20th century, the Super Soaker. Aside from this, he is also a scientist and the owner of two companies. The Super Soaker. Lonnie Johnson is the inventor of the Super Soaker line, as well as several Nerf products in the 1990s. "When I was a kid, I always wanted to make a better toy, something I enjoyed playing with," he remembers. His team represented the only Black school at the fair. The Super Soaker has been under Hasbro's Nerf subsidiary for about a decade. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. While Johnson's creative and technical genius may strike at any time, there is a lot that goes into taking a spark of discovery and turning it into something that is ready for the world. "When I grew up in Alabama back then, everything was still very segregated," Johnson recalls. At the time, there was concern about how the continuous use of Freon would impact the environment, so Johnson set out to see if he could develop a refrigeration system that used water, instead. Johnson considers himself a lifelong tinkerer. "The people that I interacted with on a daily basis were primarily Black, my teachers were all Black, so racism and being treated unfairly was never a part of my daily activity or consideration.". The Atlanta-based company behind the Super Soaker water gun and Nerf toy guns have been awarded nearly $73 million in royalties from toymaker Hasbro Inc., according to the law firm King & Spalding. There's an expression that says, 'Need is the mother of invention,' so I look for really good problems to solve. In 1991, it topped two-hundred million dollars in sales, and even today it still annually ranks among the world's Top 20 best-selling toys. Who is Lonnie Johnson? Lonnie Johnson is from Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A. His family includes six siblings who all lived together in a small house. "I got that working, got that on the spacecraft, and many of them came up to me to apologize for the things they were saying about my idea ... That to me was a major moral victory, to think, I've arrived, now I'm a real engineer.". "Then, it was about 10 years from the time I got the idea to the time it became the No. Dr. Lonnie Johnson might be one of the most brilliant inventors of our time. Maybe I could get enough money to support my habit," Johnson recalls. We have so much to thank Lonnie Johnson for, but there is a twist to this story. Lonnie Johnson was brought up in Mobile, Alabama in the 1960s, when black children were not expected to go far, but such was his talent for engineering … His name's Lonnie Johnson. He created over sixty Super Soaker patents in his career. In 2013 Johnson was awarded a multi-million dollar payout by suing Hasbro for underpaid royalties, and the two parted ways. He started to experiment with the idea, and applied for a U.S. patent in October 14, 1983, receiving it in May 27, 1986[1]. Dr. Lonnie Johnson holding one of his most famous inventions, the Super Soaker. Lonnie Johnson was born in October 6, 1949, in Mobile, Alabama. The man behind one of the most popular toys of all time is … Soak and get soaked! Johnson holds more than 250 patents, most of which are for his Super Soaker. "I was using compressed air to shoot chinaberries.". After consulting with Lonnie Johnson, engineer of the original Super Soaker, ... nerf gun MORE TO READ. He built a robot out of scrap metal and helped develop interplanetary missions for NASA and the stealth bomber program for the U.S. Air Force. The prototype combined PVC pipe, acrylic glass, and an empty plastic soda bottle. He is believed to have stopped designing Super Soakers with the demise ofLarami. US5553598 - Pneumatic launcher for a toy projectile and the like, https://nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Lonnie_Johnson?oldid=185269. During his time at NASA, he developed a pivotal power supply mechanism for the Galileo spacecraft that was deployed to study Jupiter and its moons. In 1982, Johnson finally completed a prototype which turned out to be the inspiration for his Super Soaker. Oh, did we mention that he also invented the Nerf gun? It shoots at 2,400 psi and 243 mph. Two years later, he recieved his master's degree in Nuclear Engineering. "That was when I was working on the water gun in my basement after work in the evenings," Johnson remembers. To learn more about Nerf Super Soaker, check out these featured videos. Lonnie George Johnson (born October 6, 1949) is an African American inventor, aerospace engineer, and entrepreneur, whose work history includes a U.S. Air Force term of service and a twelve-year stint at NASA, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is currently working with NASA on a heat-to-electric energy convertor, as well as working on a lithium-air battery, which, if successful, Johnson believes could have the capacity to hold 10 times the energy of a lithium ion battery. Lonnie G. Johnson is a former Air Force and NASA engineer who invented the #1 top selling water toy of all time. Lonnie Johnson is a bona fide rocket scientist and brain-busting inventor. Johnson left NASA to go back to active duty with the Air Force, all the while tinkering with water gun prototypes. "I proved NASA's prediction to be not totally accurate, that's when I got offered the job at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and there I went to work on the Galileo spacecraft as a power systems engineer.". ... including the Super Soaker water gun, Nerf dart guns, clean energy technologies and many more – I know firsthand the vital role that patents play in incentivizing and protecting innovation. The year was 1968, only five years after a federal district court ordered the University of Alabama to admit Black students Vivian Malone and James Hood. ; The man behind one of … He is believed to have stopped designing Super Soakers with the demise of Larami. Governor George Wallace, who earlier that year had declared, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever," stood in the doorway of Foster Auditorium, causing a showdown with federal authorities. Lonnie Johnson is a black inventor. "I developed a system where after you've finished shooting the gun, you could just stick it into a pool of water or a bucket and press a button and it would automatically suck the water in and you're good to go again," Johnson remembers. "I find it curious that people seem to make a big fuss about me and the Super Soaker and I'm still trying to get used to that," Johnson says. He was assigned to the Strategic Air Command, where he helped develop the stealth bomber program. Before the Super Soaker was brought to market, Lonnie Johnson filed several patents in relation to the technology behind the water gun. In 1989, after seven years of tinkering and tireless sales-pitching, during which he left the Air Force to go into business for himself, Johnson finally sold his device to the Larami Corporation, which started selling it as the Power Drencher; it was renamed to Super Soaker in 1990, which was the name the brand adopted for itself. Lonnie Johnson is one of the many extraordinary First Robotics Judges and is also a FRC Executive Advisory Board member. Since then, I've always felt very good about my education at Tuskegee.". "Lonnie Johnson is probably the most seriously overqualified toy inventor I can think of,” Chris Bensch, vice president of collections at Rochester's Strong Museum of Play, recently told MEL magazine. "It was an invention that my fellow engineers said would not work," Johnson remembers. Lonnie Johnson Inventor, Innovator & Former NASA Nuclear Engineer; Creator of the Super Soaker Water Gun & Nerf Dr. Lonnie Johnson is the Founder and President of Johnson Research and Development, three technology related spin off companies as well as a non profit organization dedicated to educating disadvantaged youth in STEM. The Nerf arsenal your squad needs to dominate the playground. RELATED. While Super Soakers and Nerf toys aren't *exactly* based on technology from NASA, that doesn't mean we couldn't find a connection. He created over sixty Super Soaker patents in his career. "And, it turns out, I was doing a better job than he was. He has partnered with 100 Black Men of Atlanta and FIRST Robotics to introduce more students to engineering and technology. Lonnie George Johnson (born October 6, 1949) is an African American inventor, aerospace engineer, and entrepreneur, whose work includes a U.S. Air Force-term of service and a twelve-year stint at NASA, where he worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Later, he attended Williamson High School in Mobile and, eventually, Tuskegee University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1973. Some believe that Lonnie Johnson’s technological ideas have contributed significantly to what later became the Nerf gun. Lonnie Johnsonis the inventor of theSuper Soakerline, as well as severalNerf products in the1990s. "For the N-Strike Nerf product line, those guns were all based on my patents ... Super Soaker, of course, that entire line started as a result of my invention.". The Super Soaker was a game changer when came to squirt guns and summer fun. "I think the earlier we can get kids interested and the more we can give positive feedback as opposed to criticism, the more likely we are to see kids grow up to be successful, I believe very strongly in that.". Lonnie Johnson was born in October 6, 1949, in Mobile, Alabama. Though it was conceived in 1982 and wouldn’t hit the market until 1990, it was in February 1989 when NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson first met with the toy company Larami to pitch his idea for a revolutionary new water gun. After high school, Johnson attended Tuskegee University, graduating with a bachelor's in mechanical engineering and a master's in nuclear engineering. Summary: I made the world's largest Super Soaker as a follow up to my World's Largest Nerf Gun. It was also around that time that he got the initial idea for the Super Soaker. "That was actually the first Nerf gun, before Nerf came out," Johnson says. Johnson moved on to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1979, working as a systems engineer for the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn, before returning to the Air Force in 1982. "I was working alongside a guy who had the same level of engineering I had, he had a master's degree and he had graduated from Penn State and he was White, of course," Johnson remembers. After that, he joined the U.S. Air Force, becoming an important member of the government scientific establishment. He holds over 100 patents, including ones for the Super Soaker and the Nerf gun. It's a story of perseverance.". "From the time I got the idea for the Super Soaker, it took about seven years before I found a path to get it commercialized," Johnson recalls. The first proper pneumatic Nerf Blaster as we know today was born! "I come to work, I try to invent and develop new things to solve problems. Toy inventor Lonnie Johnson poses with his creation "The Super Soaker" outside his Marietta, Ga., office Nov. 12, 1998. I built a go-cart, windmills, just a lot, rockets.". “Most toy inventors have a bright idea. Dr. Johnson holds a prototype for the Super Soaker. And it came to existence all thanks to an accidental discovery. "One of the things I really relate to is people saw my interest in engineering very early and they nurtured that, they cultivated that," Johnson remembers. Nerf is not just about shooting with foam darts and balls. Johnson attended the all-Black Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama, and presented his robot -- named "Linex" -- at a local Junior Engineering science fair held at the University of Alabama. Reports say that according to court filings filed against the popular toy manufacturer, Hasbro under paid royalties for The Nerf line from 2007 to 2012. A leak in a heat pump gave rocket scientist Lonnie Johnson the idea for his powerful squirt gun The Super Soaker was the top-selling toy in the world in 1992. (Photo by Thomas S. England/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images). Nerf Lazer Tag. "I was working on a new idea for a heat pump that would use water as a working fluid instead of Freon." Since he was a … Lonnie Johnson is using his nonprofit to help fund high school robotics teams, NBC News reported Thursday. 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