How did the first Super Soaker come about?

I was working on a heat pump that used water as a working fluid, and I made some jet pumps for it. I accidentally shot a stream of water across a bathroom where I was doing the experiment and thought to myself, "this would make a great gun." The original one that I first made actually had the pressurized water and the air inside a Plexiglas body. After a number of iterations, I eventually put the bottle on the top.

What's your favorite Super Soaker of all time?

I guess it'd have to be the 50. They all have their advantages. In terms of performance, the CPS systems were really great, but the 50 was the first.

Which of your inventions are you most proud of?

The SuperSoaker is right up there. It was a huge success. There are maybe three inventions I have that I rank as my top inventions that I'm most proud of. The robot I built in high school, the memory-protected circuitry for the Galileo and the Super Soaker.

You built a robot in high school?

Its name was Linex. It was 4 feet tall and remote-controlled. This was back in 1968.

What's your favorite Super Soaker story?

People tell me what great times they have with the water guns. My favorite story for the gun was an experience I had in the military. I had a handmade prototype gun. So I pumped it up and carried it with me to an office picnic. This Major looks at me and says "What is that thing?" I say: "My water gun." He then asks me if it works. So I shot him right between the eyes. He was pissed, and totally wet. After that, beer was flying all over the place.

I imagine you have a massive wall with all the Super Soakers ever mounted on it.

I have a collection of SuperSoakers. I have managed to keep most of them.

You licensed the Super Soaker technology out to toymaker Hasbro. How do you feel about the way the company's handled your baby?

It's been a long and stable run, but the challenge for Hasbro is to recapture market share from the me-toos and the copycats.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io