Lonnie Johnson, inventor of Super Soaker a large plastic pump-action water gun, holding his invention & its US patent in 1980s
Posted by thyleullar@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 23 comments
JimMcRae@reddit
This guy looks like the accidental Disney CEO from Atlanta lol
rammstew@reddit
Serious question: whyyy are these no longer being made? If it's a high pressure safety issue, I'm sure an automatic relief valve could be integrated without much fuss. Gimme back my Super Soaker 50!
illinoishokie@reddit
Johnson sued Hasbro for underpayment of royalties and was awarded $73 million. There have also been other lawsuits where Hasbro has sued other water gun manufacturers for patent infringement. So the whole thing might either be caught up in litigation hell, or Hasbro thinks they don't make enough profit off the design if they pay Johnson the royalties he's legally due.
Soszai@reddit
Any patents should have lapsed by now. I'm not sure what's legally stopping someone from making essentially the same thing. You couldn't brand it the same, but it could function the same. I'm confused why Amazon and Temu aren't full of knock-offs
threefeetofun@reddit
Hasbro owning rights to things and letting them die is common, sadly.
seahawk1977@reddit
They'd rather make no money than pay people.
thewayshesaidLA@reddit
They do, but they’re a sub-brand under Nerf. They aren’t as good or as big as the ones we had as kids.
First_Joke_5617@reddit
The bad kids would put bleach in theirs. Remember?
TheJRKoff@reddit
Piss too
First_Joke_5617@reddit
Cherry Coke. It makes the people who "shoot" sticky.
aftershave_cabinet@reddit
My neighbors were bad kids
Taanistat@reddit
Thank you, Mr. Johnson! You made my youth better than it would have been otherwise, and I had countless hours of summertime fun with your invention.
lordskulldragon@reddit
Why is it in black and white? The 80s weren't that long ago...
cropguru357@reddit
He’s a Redditor, too. Maybe he’ll drop by.
somereallyfungi@reddit
Literal rocket scientist
Smurfblossom@reddit
The Toys That Built America did a really interesting episode on this guy and the super soaker. It was absolutely fascinating to learn that he was a scientist just tinkering and stumbled upon this.
GotWood2024@reddit
This is what America is all about. Innovation.
HarloldBallardLives@reddit
My youth!
flippartnermike@reddit
Thank you Lonnie, well done sir. Sincerely, my generation.
CoffinHenry-@reddit
He’s one of the few wealthy people I feel like earned it.
throwawayzebrafarmer@reddit
I’m still waiting for my mom to give mine back.
TausMelek@reddit
I filled one of these bad boys with gasoline. Needless to say that didn’t last long, couple hours I think.
woeful_haichi@reddit
For anyone interested, here's the AMA he did seven years ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/6gacna/i_am_lonnie_johnson_inventor_of_the_super_soaker/