Water guns, also known as water blaster or water pistol is a gun-like toy that shoots off water through its nuzzle. Just like those water balloons you often see in most summer parties, the purpose of possessing a water gun is to soak another person in a water fight.
In our modern times, the water gun has been one of the children’s toys that is mostly used on a summer day. It may sound surprising, but these water gun toys have already been used way back in the year 1778 and 1861 as rifles that were used as water-firing weapons. In fact, a Union Army General named William Tecumseh had mentioned the squirt gun. Following that, in the year 1989, NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson had released the very first Super Soakers. Only with the release of that model that people have finally seen the potential of this gun as a type of toy. Since then, water guns had continued to evolve and are now sold worldwide.
Squeeze Bulb Water Gun
Squeeze bulb water guns are one of the oldest models of toy guns that uses rubber bulbs to force the water out of the gun’s nuzzle. This works by squeezing the rubber bulb rapidly. Although this can fully force or shoot water off, it still has limitations when it comes to pressure. One of them is that the amount of pressure it can achieve depends on how hard the user grips or squeeze the bulb. As well as that, it is needed to be refilled every after several shots.
Squirt Water Guns
Back in the Civil War days, it is vague what kind of squirt guns had existed. However, one thing is for sure, and that was before the super soakers that use pressurized air, water gun has simple, yet clever designs. Earlier models of squirt guns were said to have the mechanism of a sprayer. In short, these versions shoot streams of water that can reach a nearby target when the trigger was pulled.
The keyword that plays importance in this is the word ‘nearby.’ Of course, squirt guns are not as powerful as the super soakers. The initial versions were said to be notoriously weak and lack power. Plus, you’ll also need to refill it if you are to play with the squirt guns for the entire afternoon. Despite its flaws, it was still one of the most wanted toys for kids back in the days.
Air Pressurized Water Guns
As was aforementioned, one of the engineers in NASA had come up with the idea of the super soaker water gun. It is a type of recreational water gun that was operated manually by pressurized air. Before the release of this water gun model, most of the initial water guns could only shoot weak and short streams of liquid. However, with the help of adding compressed air into it, it became suddenly possible for the people to unleash a powerful water stream while playing the water gun. The super soaker water guns also needed to be pump so that the air will enter into its reservoir to provide a forceful blast of water. Nowadays, variations of the model have also existed.
Spring Type Water Guns
Spring operated water guns are the types that propel water using a metal spring. As well as that, it uses a catapult-like system wherein it launches balls of water out of the nuzzle. Spring-based water guns use the spring inside in order to produce a constant stream of water depending on how quickly enough the trigger was pump by the user. An example of a water gun model that uses such kind of mechanism is the Super Soaker Quick Blast.
Conclusion
Water guns have been present for a remarkable long period of time. Despite that, it paved its way to modern times, and it seems like they’re not going away anytime soon. In fact, with the advent of technology, water guns are still evolving, and newer features were added to provide greater capabilities. Plus, as you can see, water guns are a great way to spice up your summer. Aside from children, adults are also engaged in water gunfights. So, if you are to buy a water gun for the upcoming summer, you might want to consider the list mentioned above.