who invented the super soaker

The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by Lonnie Johnson, an engineer and former NASA and Air Force employee. He conceived the idea while experimenting with a new type of environmentally friendly heat pump that used water instead of Freon. The prototype he built combined PVC pipe, acrylic glass, and a plastic soda bottle. Initially called the Power Drencher, it was rebranded as the Super Soaker in 1991 and became a massively successful toy generating over $1 billion in sales.