A YouTuber Said White People Shouldn’t Use Water Guns Because a Black Man Invented the Super Soaker — X Is Debating the Logic

An X post from @iAnonPatriot shared a video from YouTuber @ElevateWithMya with the caption, "Black woman says White people shouldn't be allowed to use water guns in the heat because a Black man invented them."

The X user further added in the post, "Imagine if Black people couldn't use anything White people invented."

In the video, the YouTuber recorded herself saying, "European people, when they get hot this summer, don't have no [sic] water fights, no water gun fights, because guess what? The Super Soaker was made by a Black man." She added, "Let this heat cook y'all."

Several replies addressed the racial framing of the video directly. One commenter wrote, "They don't care about who made it. In their hearts and minds they are the ones who invented the Super Soakers."

Another questioned categorizing inventions by the inventor's race. They wrote, "Is there an inventor in history that only wanted people with the same skin color to have use of their inventions? Other than maybe the people that invented Black hair products."

According to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Lonnie Johnson, a Black aerospace engineer who previously worked at NASA and the U.S. Air Force, patented the Super Soaker in 1986 after developing it from a homemade heat pump prototype. The toy has been massively popular among both kids and adults, generating more than a billion dollars in sales since its release.

One reply pointed to products the YouTuber was seen using in the video, writing, "I think Hello Kitty is Japanese and the phone she is on is most likely Chinese. Soooooooo."

The commenter appeared to be suggesting hypocrisy, though the Daily Dot could not confirm the brand of phone she was using.

Another commenter added context on water guns predating the Super Soaker, writing that "John Walter Wolff (J.W. Wolff) received the oldest known U.S. patent for a water gun (or 'squirt gun'/water pistol) on June 30, 1896 (U.S. Patent No. 563,114), though the concept of water-spraying toys is much older and no single person 'invented' it from scratch."

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the full context of the video beyond the clip described in the X post. The Super Soaker's invention history was confirmed through the National Inventors Hall of Fame.