The inventor of the Super Soaker water gun is among seven inductees into this year’s class of the Alabama Business Hall of Fame. The "Power Drencher" initially failed to make much of a commercial impact, but after additional marketing efforts and a name change, the "Super Soaker" became a massively successful item. Shortly after making the deal for the Super Soaker with the Larami Corporation, Larami became a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. in February 1995. Lonnie George Johnson (né le 6 octobre 1949) est un inventeur, ingénieur aérospatial et entrepreneur américain, dont les antécédents professionnels incluent une période de service à l'US Air Force et un poste de douze ans à la NASA, notamment au Jet Propulsion Laboratory.Il a inventé le pistolet à eau Super Soaker en 1990, qui a depuis été l'un des jouets les plus vendus au monde [1 His father was a World War II veteran who worked as a civilian driver at nearby Air Force bases, while his mother worked in a laundry and as a nurse's aid. He was working on a different invention when he came up with the idea for a new type of water gun. He believed a successful version of the JTEC had the potential to make solar power competitive with coal, fulfilling the dream of efficient, renewable solar energy.Along with his groundbreaking scientific work and inventions, Johnson is board chairman of the Georgia Alliance for Children and a member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, an organization that mentors high school and college students.
In 2011, he was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. After graduating with Williamson's last segregated class, in 1969, Johnson attended Tuskegee University on a scholarship. Much to the chagrin of the university officials, Johnson won first prize. It topped $200 million in sales in 1991, and went on to annually rank among the world's Top 20 best-selling toys.Johnson and his wife, Linda Moore, have four children. Another invention sought to address matters of far greater importance: With the creation of the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Converter (JTEC), the engineer aimed to develop an advanced heat engine that could convert solar energy into electricity with twice the efficiency of existing methods. Inventor of the Super Soaker® An anonymous source said of the Super Soaker®: "I got fired from a job once because of my Super Soaker.
He aimed the nozzle into his bathtub, pulled the lever and blasted a powerful stream of water straight into the tub. Much to the chagrin of the university officials, Johnson won first prize.