Invented in Florida

invented

IN FLORIDA

KEY LIME PIE The key lime pie has been traced back to the early 20th century. Its exact origins are unknown, but the first formal mention of key lime pie as a recipe may have been made by William Curry, a ship salvager and Key West’s first millionaire; his cook, “Aunt Sally”, made the pie for him. Some people believe that Aunt Sally simply modified the recipe for lemon icebox cake and used key limes instead of lemons because both recipes require sweetened condensed milk and citrus juice.

INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULB? The incandescent light bulb was invented in Florida? This one is only partially true. Thomas Edison’s primary residence was in New Jersey during most of the time that he was inventing the incandescent light bulb, but he spent his winters at his home in Fort Myers. He worked on many of his 1,093 patented inventions there. So Florida gets some of the credit. SUNSCREEN One of the first popular sunscreen products was invented for the United States military by Florida airman and pharmacist Benjamin Green in 1944. This came about because of the hazards of sun overexposure to soldiers in the Pacific tropics at the height of World War II.

MIRANDA RIGHTS You know the part of the Miranda rights where they say “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you”? Clarence Earl Gideon was a man with an eighthgrade education who ran away from home when he was in middle school. He spent much of his early adult life as a drifter, spending time in and out of prisons for nonviolent crimes. Gideon was charged with breaking and entering with the intent to commit a misdemeanor, which is a felony under Florida law. We can thank this unlikely hero for public defenders.

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FROZEN CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE Frozen concentrated orange juice was invented by University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center. In the 1940’s, C.D. Atkins was asked by the Florida Citrus Commission to improve the quality of processed orange products, to help produce better juice for the armed forces, and at the same time improve the efficiency of Florida’s orange crop.

COLD-AIR PROCESS OF REFRIGERATION John Gorrie (born October 3, 1803, Charleston, SC - died June 16, 1855, Apalachicola, FL) was the American physician who discovered the cold-air process of refrigeration as the result of experiments to lower the temperature of fever patients by cooling hospital rooms. In 1842, Gorrie designed and built an aircooling apparatus for treating yellow-fever patients.

GATORADE Gatorade was formulated in 1965 by researchers at the University of Florida in an effort to help the then-struggling Florida Gators football team.

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BONDO PUTTY Bondo putty is an automotive body filler; a twopart mix of talc and plastic. It was introduced in 1955 and developed by World War II veteran and automotive repair shop owner Robert Merton Spink of Miami. Commonly used as a term to describe any type of automotive repair putty, the word Bondo is actually a trademarked name of a product from the company 3M (Minnesota Mining Manufacturing).

NEW SUPERCAPACITOR The new supercapacitor was invented in FSU’s AeroPropulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Center (AME), and Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) by Jim P. Zheng, a Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering professor. The new technology addresses current supercapacitor weaknesses that limit their effective use compared to traditional rechargeable battery technology.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973 Nathaniel Reed, American environmentalist and political aide from Florida who served as an environmental adviser to Florida Governor Claude R. Kirk Jr. in the 1960s, co-wrote the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Among the first species protected were the Florida panther, manatees, and alligators.

NASCAR The driving force behind the establishment of NASCAR was William “Bill” France Sr. (1909-1992), a mechanic and auto-repair shop owner from Washington, DC, who in the mid-1930s moved to Daytona Beach. The Daytona area was a gathering spot for racing enthusiasts, and France became involved in racing cars and promoting races. France felt there was a need for a governing body to sanction and promote racing. He gathered members of the racing community to discuss the idea, and NASCAR was born, with its official incorporation in February 1948. France served as NASCAR’s first president and played a key role in shaping its development in the sport’s early decades.