Chapter 1 Lonnie Johnson shoots water from a Super Soaker water gun FEARLESS INVENTOR Growing up Lonnie Johnson showed plenty of promise as an inventor He took things apart and built his own creations He experimented made mistakes and moved forward with new ideas Anyone could see he was smart creative and motivated 4
But not everyone in his life expected him to succeed in a big way Lonnie was a black student in the segregated South and did not have much opportunity Despite these challenges he became a US Air Force and National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA engineer He also invented the Super Soaker one of the most popular toys in the world 0 The Super Soaker is a super high powered water gun 3 5
ALABAMA CHILDHOOD Lonnie was born in Mobile Alabama on October 6 1949 He was the third of six children His family was far from wealthy But they were hardworking and handy Lonnie’s father a driver for the military taught Lonnie to make his own toys They once made a berry shooter together out of bamboo A smaller piece of bamboo was used as a plunger and a larger one was used as a tube Sliding the plunger inside the tube created air pressure that launched the berries into the air A street in Mobile Alabama Lonnie’s hometown 6
03 13° °2 18°30 TECH TALK I've always liked to tinker with things It started with my dad He gave me my first lesson in electricity explaining that it takes two wires for electric current to flow one for the electrons to go in the other for them to come out Lonnie Johnson 22 333 Lonnie got more creative as he got older He also took bigger risks One time he built a go kart from junkyard scraps He even built an engine for it When he tested it out along the highway police pulled him over Another time Lonnie decided to make homemade rocket fuel in his kitchen The fuel exploded and started a dangerous house fire His parents were supportive though They let him try again When Lonnie got his recipe right he used the fuel to launch a project small rocket for a school
