Richie Stachowski, 12, is making a big splash in the toy business. He invents water toys! The Californian is president and "chief inventing officer" of his own company, Short Stack. "I wanted to bring things that you can do on land into the water," he told TFK.

In 1996 Richie invented Water Talkies, a toy that lets kids talk underwater. This summer it will be sold at Toys "R" Us, Target and K Mart, along with two new Short Stack toys: the Bumper Jumper Water Pumper (a float with a water-blasting paddle) and the Scuba Scope (a pool periscope). Will Richie's ideas ever dry up? "I know what kids like," he says. "I'll always invent things."

Daily News from TIME for Kids

April 3, 1998 World Report