Louisville is home to a lot of iconic inventions — the Kentucky Derby, mint juleps + Louisville Slugger baseball bats — but we’re here to tell you that there are some lesser-known inventions from our city to be proud of, too.
Here are three we’re pretty impressed with:
Henry Bain’s Famous Sauce
Henry Bain was one of the first employees at the Pendennis Club where he started as an elevator boy in 1881 and worked his way up until he became the maître d’. Over decades of working at the club, Henry perfected the recipe for his signature sauce to pair with steak + other local game meats.
For years, the sauce was only available to guests + members of the club but today it is produced and sold across the state as well as online.
Flavored chewing gum
In the late 1800s, Louisville pharmacist John Colgan invented the first flavored chewing gum after he noticed local kids chewing on tree sap. His gum was named Taffy Tolu + was crafted from chicle gum that he had imported from Mexico. Taffy Tolu was an instant success + John brought it to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.
Reynolds Wrap
If you’ve ever gone to the grocery store to pick up a roll of aluminum foil, chances are you grabbed a box of Reynolds Wrap. The name brand of aluminum foil that we’ve come to use for everything from baking cookies to sharpening a pair of scissors, was invented by Reynolds Metal Company in 1947.
Did we miss one of your favorite Louisville inventions? Let us know.