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Meet the inventor of the Super Soaker, who's next idea could help our warming planet  Feb. 2, 2026

 

What's up, sunshine? Welcome to CNN 10. I'm Coy Wire here with your news for Monday, February 2nd, pumped to be here with you to start the week and to start Black History Month.

 

It's a time to recognize, learn from, and celebrate the stories of Black Americans, because for a long time, many of those stories were left out of history books, even though they helped shape our country in huge ways.

 

Black History Month is about understanding how history connects to the present and how the Black innovators, leaders, artists, and inventors of today are inspiring the future.

 

We are kicking things off with a feature of an incredible man I got to spend time with recently, Dr. Lonnie Johnson, a barrier-breaking engineer and entrepreneur who's one of the most brilliant inventors of our time, and his story is ready for a movie script.

 

Dr. Johnson holds more than 100 patents, and he's worked on top-secret projects for NASA and the U.S. Air Force, but his most famous invention, one of the best-selling toys of all time, the Super Soaker.

 

I met Dr. Johnson at his lab here in Atlanta to hear his story and to share it with you.

 

I've always been an inventor, and I think we're all inventors. You know, human beings, creativity, problem solving, it's what we're built to do.

 

And creating is exactly what Lonnie Johnson has spent his life doing, while shattering stereotypes and breaking barriers along the way.

 

People ask me all the time, what's my favorite invention? It's like asking what's my favorite style, you know?

 

From aerospace engineer to inventor, he is a living icon and living proof of what a little ingenuity and a lot of perseverance can do. He has more than 140 patents, including one that might be one of your favorite toys.

 

ingenuity [ˌɪndʒǝˈnuǝtɪ] n. 心灵手巧；独创性

perseverance [ˌpɝsǝˈvɪrǝns] n. 坚持不懈；坚忍不拔

 

Dr. Johnson was born in 1949. He grew up in segregated Alabama during a time of rampant racial injustice. Take us back through your childhood, some of the challenges that you faced growing up.

 

segregated [ˈsɛɡrɪˌɡеtɪd] adj. 种族隔离的；实行种族隔离政策的

rampant [ˈræmpǝnt] adj. 蔓延的；猖獗的

 

Well, I grew up, segregation was a very real thing. So there were certain things that, you know, as a Black person in America, I was not allowed to do, places I couldn't go, colored versus white, bathrooms, water fountains, the whole nine yards. And racism was just up out front, you know, if you were Black, you couldn't, there's certain things you just didn't do.

 

up out front (或常说 up front）指的是「公开且毫不掩饰的」或「直接了当的」

 

A cruel, daily reality, but Dr. Johnson wasn't going to let that crush his creative spirit.

 

By the time I got to high school, you know, I got interested in science and engineering. I watched President Kennedy make his moon speech in 62 and was all excited about that and getting into science and rockets and used to watch the Lost in Space robot on TV and Robby the Robot, and I decided I wanted to have my own robot.

 

He spent over a year building Linux. So you're like 16, 17 years old at the time?

 

And this was back in the 60s, so nobody had robots back then.

 

He took Linux to a science fair his senior year.

 

I went up to the University of Alabama in 68. This was just a few years after Governor Wallace had stood in the door and said no Black students would ever attend this university. And I was the only Black student there with the project. And my robot won first place.

 

After graduation, Dr. Johnson attended Tuskegee University, getting a master's in nuclear engineering and starting his career at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

 

I found myself working alongside students from Princeton and other graduates, rather, from Princeton and other universities in engineering.

 

And I was, you know, solving problems and I'd seen things and knew things that a lot of them didn't know. So I felt that I was very well prepared by Tuskegee and it really built my confidence.

 

That confidence propelled him to the Air Force and then to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, where one of his inventions flew on the Galileo mission.

 

It was during that time, and while he was trying to solve a different problem that led to probably his most famous invention ever, or at least for now, it started with tinkering with nozzles in the bathroom.

 

nozzle [ˈnɑzḷ] n. 喷嘴

 

And it shot the stream of water across the bathroom and I thought, geez, this is a really satisfying effect here. Yeah, and the curtains in the bathroom started swirling because of the air currents that were set up.

 

And I thought, geez, a high-performance water gun would be a lot of fun. So I put down that project and started using my engineering insight to figure out, okay, how can I build a high-pressure gun that a small kid could operate and could hold a lot of water. I knew it would be successful.

 

I didn't know that it was going to be a number one selling tool in the world.

 

Now, Dr. Johnson spends a lot of his time with one of the companies he created, JTEC Energy, still on a mission to solve problems. I think your message is that luck is what happens when you perpetually prepare and persevere.

 

perpetually [pɚˈpɛtʃʊǝlɪ]  adv. 不断地

 

You've mastered that. And now you've turned it into this, JTEC. I mean, this is really exciting what you're doing here.

 

It's where science and creation collide as the team searches for new clean ways to fuel the world.

 

A lot of the conflicts that you see in the world are centered on energy, oil. So if we could reduce our dependence on oil, we'd not only improve the environment, but we'd also have one less thing to fight about.

 

Now, that was just a teaser of our mind-blowing morning at Dr. Johnson's lab. We have a special episode dropping later this month that includes one of his new inventions that's taking wasted heat from machines and factories and converting it to electricity. Look out.

 

Today's top space story, potential concerns surrounding NASA's Orion spacecraft, the vehicle that's slated to help return man to the moon as part of the Artemis missions.

 

Orion [oˈraɪǝn] n. 猎户座

 

Four astronauts are scheduled to head to space aboard the Orion as soon as next week for a 10 day trip around the moon as part of the Artemis II mission. But some experts say the craft has a known flaw and are urging the agency not to fly the mission with humans on board.

 

The issue relates to a special coating on the bottom of the craft called the heat shield, which protects astronauts from extreme temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit as they reenter Earth's atmosphere.

 

The crucial component on Artemis II is nearly identical to the one that was used on the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022. That shield showed unexpected signs of damage following its return to Earth, prompting an investigation by NASA.

 

And while even those involved in the investigation of that shield say there could be some risk involved, NASA appears poised to clear Artemis II for launch. The agency tells CNN that they have spent years investigating the issue and believe they can ensure the crew's safety through a number of ways, including altering the mission's flight path.

 

Pop quiz, hot shot.

 

What is the role of sodium in your body's process of hydration?

 

protein absorption, bone strength, water retention, or cavity prevention?

 

If you said water retention, H2, way to go. Sodium directs water where it needs to go in the body, like your bloodstream or muscle tissues. If sodium is low, water can pass right through you, even if you're drinking plenty of it.

 

A teenager has just set the world record for fastest indoor mile by an under-18 athlete. That team is Sam Ruth from New Zealand. He's 16 years old.

 

He ran the mile in 3 minutes, 48.88 seconds in Boston over the weekend. He kicked it into another gear in the last 100 meters to blast past the leader for the win. His dad said he traveled about 50 hours to get to the race.

 

And Sam said after the 9,000 mile journey, he was just thinking this race would be a rust buster. Instead, it was a record breaker. The time also broke New Zealand's national mile record set by a 30-year-old more than 40 years ago.

 

rust buster（轻松跑跑、活动筋骨、消除生锈感）。

 

Ruth told CNN Sports he thought he wouldn't be able to crack that record for years. And he still says he doesn't believe it, said he didn't even feel like he was going that fast. But now, with more races in Boston to come, he said he has more in the tank and can probably go faster.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, shows the power of believing in yourself when every second matters. 14-year-old Ryan Long was at home in Beekmantown, New York, when a normal day suddenly turned into an emergency. His grandma began feeling unwell.

 

And before they could make it to the hospital, she stopped breathing. With his grandfather on FaceTime and nurses coaching him over the phone, Ryan started CPR, staying focused and pushing through the pressure. For nearly 10 minutes, Ryan kept up chest compressions until paramedics arrived, saving his grandmother's life.

 

Ryan has since been honored with his school district's first Eagle of Excellence Award, named a Healthcare Hero. Inspired by Ryan's actions, classmates all signed up for CPR training. Nurses say, just like Ryan, always called 911 first.

 

Proof that knowing what to do and confidence can make all the difference.

 

All right, I've got two shout-outs for you today. This first one goes to Mr. Grog at Goshen Central School District in Goshen, New York. Go Dragons! Thank you for subscribing to our CNN10 YouTube channel.

 

And we have a very special shout-out today to Mrs. Kiewik at Chandler Woods Charter Academy in Belmont, Michigan. Rise up! Now, Mrs. Kiewik is making CNN10 history today.

 

She's expecting a baby soon and she asked us to be part of her baby's gender reveal. So, without further ado, drumroll please. It's a boy! Congratulations! Thank you for allowing us to be part of baby Kiewik's arrival.

 

without further ado 不再啰嗦地

 

Have an awesome day, everyone. I'll see you right back here tomorrow. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN10.