Gatorade

You know, while I was sipping a cool plastic bottle of Gatorade®, sheathed in beads of condensation, it suddenly dawned on me that I remember when this thirst quencher first came out. I can still see that trademark glass jug that it originally came in, but what I didn’t know, until I did a little online research today, was the origins of this unique mix of water, sodium, phosphate, potassium and lemon juice:

In early summer of 1965, a University of Florida assistant coach sat down with a team of university physicians and asked them to determine why so many of his players were being affected by heat and heat related illnesses.

The researchers — Dr. Robert Cade, Dr. Dana Shires, Dr. H. James Free and Dr. Alejandro de Quesada — soon discovered two key factors that were causing the Gator players to ‘wilt’: the fluids and electrolytes the players lost through sweat were not being replaced, and the large amounts of carbohydrates the players’ bodies used for energy were not being replenished.

The researchers then took their findings into the lab, and scientifically formulated a new, precisely balanced carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage that would adequately replace the key components lost by Gator players through sweating and exercise. They called their concoction ‘Gatorade’.”

Well, how about that? Gatorade® was named after the University of Florida Gators. The team credited Gatorade® with their first Orange Bowl win and the drink became an instant phenomenon. And that was probably right around the time, when a young boy in Oglesby, Illinois first heard of this sports drink and pestered his mother and grandmother to buy it the next time they went to the store.