Every TOY or GAME has a STORY… a WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY & HOW to share with kids.

Today, it’s the SQUIRT GUN’s turn to tell its story (with a little help from Grandma Sharon)…

WHO invented the Squirt Gun:  Metal Squirt Guns have been around for a very long time (some date back to the late 1800’s), and were originally filled with chemicals such as ammonia and used as weapons of self-defense.

WHAT does the Squirt Gun do:  Today, a Squirt Gun, also called a Water Pistol or Water Gun, is a toy designed to squirt water for play and recreation.

WHEN was the Squirt Gun invented:  There are vintage Squirt Guns still around from as early as the 1940’s, constructed with metal and rubber squeeze bulbs.

WHERE do you play with the Squirt Gun:  Outside.  And only outside.  Unless you want to be in big trouble with your parents and grandparents.

WHY is the Squirt Gun so popular:  The Squirt Gun is a fun outside water toy used to soak other people in a game of Water Warfare (only when other people are willing players, though).  It’s that simple.

HOW does the Squirt Gun work:  The hand-held Squirt Gun works kind of like a spray bottle.  You must fill the water container or reservoir, which most times is the entire inside of the gun.   There’s a trigger lever attached to a small pump.  The pump is attached to a small tube.  When the trigger is pulled by your finger, the water in the pump is drawn through the tube to the hole or nozzle at the Squirt Gun’s muzzle.

A stream of water then comes from the Squirt Gun… hopefully, your stream of water hits someone before someone’s water hits you (but it’s fun being squirted with water on a hot summer day, anyway).

Then the entire process begins again as you re-fill your Squirt Gun reservoir with water. “Ta-dah!”

Join me here each day in July for TOY STORIES on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids! A little fun, a little learning and a little “ta-dah!”