INDIANAPOLIS — Vile-tasting synthetic sweat was developed in a basement lab by doctors who, soon after, landed at the Indiana University School of Medicine and convinced canned bean company Stokely Van-Camp to bottle the concoction and sell it.
That's how a multi-billion dollar sports drink industry was launched in Indianapolis, with a beverage called Gatorade.
"99.9% of Indiana does not know this," said Dr. Richard Schreiner, a former IU School of Medicine professor who, for decades, has studied the school's history. "It is just a fascinating tale."
Fascinating and one of those multilayered sagas of football, mixed with medicine, mixed with science, mixed with electrolytes that is long forgotten or unknown by many.
