Ready, Take Aim, Fire! The Warfare Of Water

Do you remember back in the day when we used to have summers? Those blisteringly hot days with nothing to do except enjoy cool drink after cool drink, and of course, get each other absolutely soaked with our water pistols?

Today, children need not be so kind. With what seems like shorter summers, but hotter ones, children now seem to find themselves the owners of water pistols which seem capable of soaking another person so completely that one squirt is all it takes. Two squirts and you'll find yourself knocked over. Three, and you're head will start to come loose. These water pistols are little short of those owned by the police. The police call theirs water cannons, but the names of some of the water pistols available to children today have names which would strike as much fear and dread into the hearts of the enemy than the police achieve.

The old water pistols simply worked by having a chamber full of water, and by pressing the trigger, the water was simply drawn up from the chamber through a small hose, and it squirted out of the end. You had to be well within six feet of your opponent, and the most they would have to do is wipe a few drops from their face. Today, manufacturers have devised all manner of devious ways of manipulating water to ensure that the maximum range is achieved, with the maximum amount of water ejected in one go, and also with the maximum amount of water stored. With firing so much water so far, several canisters of water are needed, and these are either hooked to the sides of the pistol, or actually worn as a water backpack, similar to those used by gardeners who spray large areas of lawn.

The range of these pistols is well beyond the traditional six feet, and now regularly you will hear claims of thirty feet, with one or two top end pistols claiming fifty feet! No child will be safe with one of these about. A typical way of achieving this extended range and velocity is by priming the water pistol before it is fired. This involves pumping the main canister, which has the effect if building up the water pressure. Eventually the water is under so much pressure that it is bursting to escape, and by pressing the trigger, a valve is operated which allows the water under pressure to escape through the nozzle in one almighty spray. There are some pistols which have an alternative feature, which aims for maximum water release rather than distance, and this works the same way, with water being forced under pressure, but a valve opens wider to allow all of the water in the canister to escape in one quick go. This has less range, but ensures anyone near you will be just as wet as if you had thrown a bucket of water over their head.

With shoulder straps, backup reserve tanks, primers, triggers, scopes and sights, these pistols are nothing short of military warfare with water. As long as you have the garden to manage with this, and you don't mind your lawn becoming less like a bowling green and more like a goal mouth at the end of a football season, then children adore getting soaked and having fun with these - and at least they're staying relatively clean at the same time!

Seed Newsvine

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