Summers Would Never Be The Same …

Do you remember the dawn of the Super Soaker water gun? I sure do. It was the summer of 1990, and friends and I had gathered in the Cul-De-Sac for another water fight. We had the usual arsenal of hydro-weapons: the traditional squirt gun, buckets, water balloons and the garden hose.

Our screams and laughter must have attracted some boys from just down the street, and they came running. Their arrival, however, would change the summer water fight in our neighbourhood forever.

They came armed with the latest in H20 pumping technology. The size of the weapon and it’s neon glow struck us with awe. Surely it was from the future, or at least from a really expensive toy store.

I’m speaking of course, about the original Super Soaker 50. It held more water, and utilized manually pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt guns. It immediately made everything else obsolete. Never again would a dollar store water gun be good enough.

As the sun began to set, we all scrambled home to tell our amazing tale to our parents, and beg them to buy us one. I remember I finally convinced my grandmother to buy me one. She didn’t understand it’s significance, but none-the-less took me to several different malls before we found one (they were all sold out).

Some weeks later of course some rich, spoiled kid, traded up for the Super Soaker 100 - and the water fight arms race was born. Kids today just don’t understand the kind of power that they wield. They don’t remember the way it used to be; tiny little streams in short bursts, traveling only a few feet. Remember kids, with great power, comes great responsibility.

The traditional, puny squirt gun.

The Super Soaker 50

The King: The Super Soaker 100