Which powerful water toy can get you all wet? Lonnie Johnson, an African-American inventor and aerospace engineer, invented the Super Soaker, a powerful water toy.

Lonnie G. Johnson (1949- ), was born in Mobile, Alabama. He always loved creating and experimenting. At the age of 18, he built a remote-controlled robot, "Linex," and won a national award for his invention. The robot was made from junkyard scraps. He attended Tuskegee Institute, where he earned a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1972 and a M.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering in 1974.

After college he joined the Air Force and later went to work for NASA, where he earned many awards, including award-winning work for the Galileo Jupiter probe and the Mars Observer project. One of his great achievements was the Johnson Tube. Of all his inventions, he is most noted for the Super Soaker water toy.

In 1982, Lonnie did not mean to invent the powerful water toy, but was tinkering around when a homemade nozzle at his bathroom sink shot a spray of water, and viola! The Super Soaker was born!