When I was a kid, my dad was a high school football coach. The school, Mount St. Mary's in Oklahoma City, was pretty small, and did not have a big athletic budget. My dad, who is quite inventive, came up with all sorts of gizmos and gadgets during the summertime that he tested on my sister, me, and whatever kids in the neighborhood brave (or gullible) enough to try his creations.
Most were pretty good.
However, one idea that I'll never forget was the time he decided to make his own version of a sport drink. During practice, he made sure his players had water breaks, but buying Gatorade got expensive quickly, even when he watered it down. So he came up with a plan...
It was around lunchtime, as I recall, and my sister and I came in to the kitchen to get something to eat (this was back in the days when it was okay for parents to send their children outside to play all day). We were somewhat surprised to see our dad mixing up a pitcher of Kool-Aid.
Dad: "You guys thirsty? Try this."
WARNING! WARNING! I could feel the alarms going off. Why is Dad doing what Mom usually does? If it doesn't involve a charcoal grill outside, this can't be good.
Me: "Uhhhh... What is it?"
Dad: "I just made my own version of Gatorade. Tell me how you like it."
My sister and I grabbed cups and he filled them. I think it was purple, and we assumed it was probably grape flavored.
We each took a gulp, and promptly spit it out into the sink,
My sister: "Mom! Dad's trying to poison us!"
Me: "What IS that? You forgot the sugar, Dad!"
What he had done was use salt instead of sugar, his reason being that when you sweat, you lose salt in the process. He didn't want to use sugar because that would get it all sweet and sticky.
Needless to say, he didn't spring it on his players when the season started.
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