# Gatorade **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688 "2003-05-22T00:14:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/1 "2003-05-22T00:14:52Z")
My kids love Gatorade. Here’s the deal. I bought a 5 gallon plastic dispenser last year at Home Depot. You know, like the ones they use at sporting events. One typically sees this thing being dumped over the Coach’s head… I filled it with Gatorade. Now, there ain’t much IN Gatorade, is there? If I keep dumping ice in every few days, and then adding some powder here and there and water to keep the blend reasonably tasty, will this stuff ever go bad? Or, can I indeed keep adding to the batch all summer long? It doesn’t get warm in fact, I don’t let it go long enough to stop being cool if not cold. Is there some reason why I can’t just keep adding to this batch, perpetuating the load and allowing my kids to dispense their favorite drink at will? I’m not interested in debating the NUTRITIONAL value of Gatorade. My kids drink milk, fruit juice with no sugar added, lemonade and water. This isn’t their only drink- it’s just their fave drink and the one they and their pals go to when hot from playing. Will this stuff last? Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![deb2world](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@deb2world](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deb2world)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/2 "2003-05-22T00:52:28Z")
It will ferment after a time. My dad does that with his drink in the fridge and sure enough after a couple of weeks it starts to add an extra kick. (note I have never seen my dad drink an alcoholic drink except for his punch that has taken an interesting turn). ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/3 "2003-05-22T04:00:53Z")
If you’re lucky it will ferment. If you’re not lucky, mold and other ick will grown. Gatorade is mostly sugar. Sugar is a pretty good preservative, but not so safe that you can have perpetual Jagged Edge in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/4 "2003-05-22T13:07:38Z")
Hmmm. Neither fermentation nor moldy drinks are an option. I’ll stop being quite such a cheapskate, and dump what’s left after a week or so, scrub out the huge container and flush out the dispensing nozzle with hot soapy water. Fermentation. With keeping it cool, that’d never occurred to me. ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/5 "2003-05-22T13:16:50Z")
Please pardon the hijack. Is the Gatorade sold everywhere anything like the original stuff, or is it just sugar-water now? ---
**Author:** ![Wyld\_Stallyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Wyld\_Stallyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyld_Stallyn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/6 "2003-05-22T13:34:17Z")
The Perpetual Gatorade Machine may perhaps be the greatest idea I’ve ever heard. I wish I was your child, **Cartooniverse**. ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/7 "2003-05-22T19:27:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NutMagnet \* > \*\*Please pardon the hijack. > > Is the Gatorade sold everywhere anything like the original stuff, or is it just sugar-water now? \*\* It’s just like the original stuff except it now comes in about 250 different flavors/colors. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/8 "2003-05-24T21:24:32Z")
I found this interesting-looking site, [History of Gatorade](http://www.gssiweb.com/tour/#). I cannot load it for some odd reason. Check it out 🙂 I remember hearing that the original formula of Gatorade was pretty powerful, and that the commercially sold blends are not quite as energizing. Who knows, probably a job for Unca Cecil to solve… **Wyld Stallyn** , what a nice thing to say, thank you ! I’ll have ya’ll know that I did look into the container, and thought I saw some moldy stuff on the sides, so I scrubbed it out and re-filled it with a gallon or two. Better to make anew each day, and still have it always filled for the kids and buddies… the alternative is having a big batch go over. ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/9 "2003-05-24T21:32:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cartooniverse \* > **Hmmm. Neither fermentation nor moldy drinks are an option. I’ll stop being quite such a cheapskate, and dump what’s left after a week or so, scrub out the huge container and flush out the dispensing nozzle with hot soapy water.** Put a tiny bit of bleach in that water (maybe a tablespoon or so per gallon), and be sure to rinse well. That’ll do more to keep the mold in check than scrubbing. ---
**Author:** ![Loneraven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@Loneraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loneraven)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/10 "2003-05-24T22:32:31Z")
I’d never heard of Gatorade before opening this thread. Am I missing something vitally important in my life? Or is it some sort of soft drink? ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/11 "2003-05-24T22:36:55Z")
It’s a “sports drink”, i.e. a mixture of sugars, salts, & good old-fashioned water. The History of Gatorade link referenced above will tell you more. Europeans will probably be familiar with Lucozade, which is similar. ---
**Author:** ![JetterVT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@JetterVT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JetterVT)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/12 "2010-09-11T12:29:34Z")
> [@j.c](#): > > Gatorade is mostly sugar. Sugar is a pretty good preservative… Wrong. The whole process behind making an alcoholic beverage is the conversion of sugar by an anaerobic (a process that lacks o2) reaction In ANY situation, sugar is a horrible preservative. I had an electorlrolite mix (Gatorade for Camel Baks) sitting in a friends car for 2 months. 1st, it started to grow mold because there was some o2(oxygen) left. after the mold used all that up, it started to process the sugars the 2nd most efficient way, by creating a bacteria that consumed the sugar and excreted alcohol. For a normal situation 1-3 days, I cant venture a guess. 2 months in an airtight environment, you will definitely have fermentation. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/13 "2010-09-11T12:33:05Z")
> [@JetterVT](#): > > In ANY situation, sugar is a horrible preservative. Wrong. See honey. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/14 "2010-09-11T12:47:58Z")
I’ve got a not-quite-perpetual pitcher of Crystal Light (sugar free powdered drink mix) going in the fridge. As soon as it’s empty, or nearly so, another tub gets dumped in and more water added. During warm weather, we go through a tub (2 quarts) a day, 'tween my eldest son and myself. But after, oh, two weeks or so, it gets…weird looking. A slime of sorts starts to gather on the sides. Not knowing if it’s mold or Crystal Light residue, I clean out the pitcher and start anew. No ill health effects, but it insults my aesthetics. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/15 "2010-09-11T12:50:34Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > > [@JetterVT](#): > > > > In ANY situation, sugar is a horrible preservative. > > Wrong. See honey. I’m furthering this zombie thread, but I have to add that honey is good because it has little to no moisture and a lot of sugar. Moisture screws up the whole situation and allows for spoilage. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/16 "2010-09-11T13:26:48Z")
Oh, jeez. It \*is \*a zombie. Guess that honey really is a great preservative! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/17 "2010-09-11T14:39:04Z")
I know in some prisons, the prisoners are required to have fresh fruit, if they want. And they can save these apples or whatever and there’s a way to get the fruit to ferment and they make a crude form of prison brew with it. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/18 "2010-09-11T14:46:00Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I know in some prisons, the prisoners are required to have fresh fruit, if they want. And they can save these apples or whatever and there’s a way to get the fruit to ferment and they make a crude form of prison brew with it. Natural airborne yeasts (think sourdough) might do the trick if they can’t get hold of a packet of baking yeast. The problem is, you really want to get yeast in there fast to “beat out” the other bugs floating around looking for a good meal, or you might just get mold instead. [Ah, this was the article I was looking for.](http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000373.php) ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gatorade/176688/19 "2010-09-13T05:08:43Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I know in some prisons, the prisoners are required to have fresh fruit, if they want. And they can save these apples or whatever and there’s a way to get the fruit to ferment and they make a crude form of prison brew with it. [Pruno.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruno)