8 Things You Didn't Know About Gatorade (Slideshow)

Gatorade announced this month that it will be removing BVO, a food additive that is banned in Europe, from all of its drinks in the near future. While studies are not conclusive, some research has found  that brominate — a component of BVO — builds up in breast milk, and it has been linked neurological impairment, changes in thyroid hormones, earlier puberty, and reduced fertility.

Every year, bets are placed on the color of the Gatorade that douses the winning coach in the Super Bowl. This year, according to oddsmakers, the bet was on a likelihood that the liquid is going to be water – clear is the favorite at 7/2, but orange, yellow, green, red, and blue Gatorade were all still contenders: orange ended up being the winner.  

The first "Gatorade Shower" occurred in 1984, and started after the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins and coach Bill Parcells took the inaugural dunking. 

26 flavors of Gatorade have been discontinued, including "Iced Tea Cooler," "Frost Alpine Snow," "Fierce Grape," and "ESPN the flavor," making it the brand-name drink that holds the record for most discontinued flavors.

Diabetics can drink Gatorade. According to the Gatorade website, "physically active diabetics who require periodic intake of carbohydrates to prevent hypoglycemia from occurring during and following activity should consume carbs during exercise."

Cyclamate, a carcinogen, was originally in Gatorade. It was removed from the sports drink a year after it was discovered to be cancer-causing. 

Despite the fact that it started out in tiny Gainesville, Florida — population 126,000 — Gatorade has made huge international waves in recent years. Currently, it's available in 86 countries across the globe, and is an official partner for 84 football clubs, across 14 countries worldwide.

Gatorade didn't just start off in a lab, it now has its own institute: founded in 1985 in Barrington, Illinois, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) employs numerous PhDs who spend long hours in laboratory space designed specifically for exercise performance, body composition, metabolism, and gastrointestinal physiology. Their clinical research has helped develop understanding of fluid and electrolyte losses on thermoregulation, performance, and muscle cramping: so in case you were still wondering, this stuff ain't just fancy sugar water.