11 Awesome Things Florida Gave The World

Florida may be famous for its bizarre news headlines—who can forget that zombie attack in Miami or that man throwing an alligator through a Wendy’s drive-thru window? But every now and then, it radiates creations of pure genius. Here’s what we owe to the Sunshine State.

Spring Break

Are you heading to the beach during spring break? Believe it or not, the ritual began in Florida. In 1938, college swimmers were invited to the state during their break from classes to swim in a new Olympic-sized pool in Fort Lauderdale. The innocent study break quickly turned into the beach bacchanal wreaking havoc all over the world every spring.

NASCAR

Air Conditioning Technology

Every humid and hot city in the world has to thank air conditioning for their tourism. Travelers would not be flocking to vacations in the deserts of Morocco and the swamps of Florida without a healthy, functioning, life-saving A/C, and we all owe it to John Gorrie. In the 1850s, the physician relocated to Florida to care for patients afflicted with yellow fever. In an effort to cool them, he attempted to build a type of machine that would lower the temperature of the room, but his invention was only able to chill the room for moments at a time. He died penniless in his quest to perfect the design, but he produced the skeleton of what is today the beloved cooling system.

Amazon

Miami Palmetto High School gave us Jeff Bezos, and he went on to found the largest online shopping retailer in the world.

Hooters

The restaurant notorious for its bombshell servers was incorporated in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983. Now, there are Hooters locations in 44 U.S. states and 28 other countries.

Key Lime Pie

The tangy dessert made with Key lime juice is a Florida staple, but the jury’s still out on who concocted the thing. Botanist Jack Simons is often cited as having created the pie (named after the Key limes found in the Florida Keys), but the recipe was supposedly first mentioned by Key West millionaire William Curry. Whoever was responsible, Key Lime Pie is the official dessert of the state of Florida and a worldwide favorite.

Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate

You may not want to buy concentrate, but the concoction was developed in 1948 at the University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center.

Gatorade

If you’ve been quenching your thirst with Gatorade, you can thank a team of scientists at the University of Florida. In an effort to create a beverage that replaced the carbohydrates and electrolytes the university’s Gator football players lost during the games, a coach and scientists made Gatorade.

Hurricane Scale

Miami engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Simpson developed a system to classify a hurricane’s wind intensity in the 1970s. The 1–5 categorization is all thanks to them.

Sunscreen

While international pioneers had already conceived the formula for sunscreen, the first sunscreen lotion invented in the U.S. was crafted by Florida-based pharmacist Benjamin Green in 1944. The patent was sold to Coppertone.

The first personal computer

The IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) was introduced by a team of engineers and designers under the direction of Don Estridge in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1981. Take that, California!

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.