Propelled by the success of the Super Soaker, Johnson founded his own company, Johnson Research & Development, since acquiring over 100 patents. Some of his inventions, such as a ceramic battery and hair rollers that set without heat, have achieved commercial success. Others, like a diaper that plays a nursery rhyme when soiled, failed to catch on.
Paul Werbos of the National Science Foundation sums up the immense importance of Johnson’s work: “This is a whole new family of technology … It’s like discovering a new continent. You don’t know what’s there,
Johnson and his wife Linda Moore have four children and live in the Ansley Park neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia.