Did you know the City of Gainesville is the hometown of a world-famous sports drink?

The selection of Gainesville as the site for the University of Florida (UF) in 1905 proved extremely important to the city, to Alachua County and eventually to the world. Originally known as Hog Town, Gainesville was named for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, the captor of Aaron Burr. The site of two Civil War battles and a Confederate Commissary, the city was struck by two major fires in the 1880s. Brick was used to rebuild the city and an impressive new courthouse, symbolizing Gainesville's growth. UF opened in 1906 with 102 students, 15 faculty and two unfinished buildings. Its continued growth helped sustain the county's economy through the Depression. The admission of coeds in 1947 and the addition of a medical school expanded the university to an enrollment of more than 44,000 students by 2000. UF is now a major research institution, and has a very well known product to its credit.

Gatorade was invented by Dr. Robert Cade, a professor of physiology at UF. He sought to create a way to replace the enormous amount of perspiration, and therefore sodium and sugar, lost by football players during a game. Loss of perspiration causes blood sodium levels to rise and blood sugar levels to fall. These drastic changes cause confusion and weakness. Dr. Cade created a solution of sugar and salt that would counter these effects, and improved second-half performance so much, he was credited with the Gators' 1967 Orange Bowl win. Since that time, Gatorade has become one of the most profitable patented products developed at the University of Florida.

Reprinted from Quality Cities September/October 2005

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