Lonnie Johnson: I'm Lonnie Johnson. I'm an inventor. The invention that most people know me for is the Super Soaker water gun. I knew the gun worked well, and I knew it would be successful.

Lonnie Johnson was brought up in Mobile, Alabama in the 1960s, when Black children were not expected to go far. But such was his talent for engineering that he worked ...

This gun shoots a dousing stream 30 feet or more. The Super Soaker also racked up more than ... but none caught fire in a big way. Then one day came the moment that would change his life.