There’s so much to admire in Lonnie Johnson’s story, taking apart toys and electronics to find out how they worked from an early age. He was nicknamed ‘The Professor’ by neighbourhood kids. During his teen years he’d built a scrapyard go-kart and nearly burned down his parents house trying to cook up rocket fuel on a stove-top pan. Maybe best not to mention that one to students.

But his inventions took him far. Winning the Alabama State University School Science fair, on to University and the Air Force and NASA’s JPL research team and the Galileo probe (nice call-back to 21st September). But his fortune wasn’t made with a serious science project it was made by inventing the Super Soaker water pistol. And the Nerf gun. And taking Hasbro to court when they tried to short-change him on his royalties by $73 million.

Discuss where being good in school science can take you. To cool public research projects and to making a fortune from water-pistols.

-Bill