4 of the Most Useful Products That Came From Florida

Recently, TriMech Design Solutions (formerly MAKO) opened its doors in Miami, Florida – the Sunshine State! Florida is full of incredibly talented design professionals, and we’re so excited to have a firm stationed on the ground there, situated in the artsy neighbourhood of Wynwood next to entrepreneurs, startups and tech mammoths.

As we are ecstatic to have our third North American office in Miami, we decided to celebrate some of the great Florida Product Designers, by featuring some of our favorite designs that we’ve seen come out of the state recently. 

Bondo

If you’ve sold a used car that needed a little bit of work, you’ve probably used or heard of Bondo. Bondo is a putty that is used as an automotive body filler. It is now owned by 3M, but when it was first introduced in 1955 it was developed by World War II veteran, repair shop owner, and one of Florida’s product designers, Robert Merton Spink of Miami, Florida. 

Mechanical Fridges & The Air Conditioner

Yes, we can thank Florida for our lovely AC units that keep us cool in the hot weather, and the fridges that keep our food cold. John Gorrie was a doctor in Florida who decided in 1845 to give up his medical practice to pursue refrigeration products. In 1851 he patented a machine to make ice. It was from there he went on to produce an apparatus for producing cooling fluids and was coined the “father of the refrigerator.”

Gatorade

Those wonderful electrolyte beverages that help athletes, hangovers, and restore our bodies when we have the flu, were invented in Florida by an assistant football coach. In 1965 a team of scientists had a request from Florida Gators football coach to create something to help athletes replace body fluids lost during physical exertion. Thus, Gatorade was born.

The earliest versions of the drink contained a mix of water, sodium, sugar, potassium, phosphate, and lemon juice. It was credited to helping the team win the Orange Bowl, which helped the beverage pick-up major traction.

Sunscreen

How do you prevent yourself from turning as red as a tomato when lounging or playing under the sun? Sunscreen. And that’s exactly why Florida product designers are responsible for the invention of sunscreen.

Benjamin Green invented sunscreen in Miami in 1944 to protect soldiers fighting in World War II from the sun. However, he was given partial credit for the invention because several international inventors had already invented it years prior. Green’s formula was bought by Coppertone and sold to the people of the USA for the first time.

Florida harbours an incredible history of fantastic design and inventions. MAKO can’t wait to be part of the journey of Florida product designers.