Come on, Heinz, catch up! Enterprising students create ketchup bottle that pours like milk (and it only took them two months)1 K9 [0 ]5 J( `+ y
By Eddie Wrenn / V1 Q3 n5 t0 z4 ~: e5 z+ mPUBLISHED: 08:56 GMT, 23 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:23 GMT, 23 May 2012 # c7 N; j9 J+ i# U i' C4 \+ y8 M ( i1 i z6 R/ ios.tvboxnow.comAny ketchup fan will tell you: Getting that last dollop of the red stuff out of the bottle is a headache - and it normally just ends up in the bin.% E; K9 D' M# h
But now, a radical new bottle design could spell the end of that problem forever. * E) i- [$ N( Q; M) h+ Jtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb 8 }: k' g1 V6 EThe MIT university team came up with LiquiGlide, a 'super-slippery' coating which makes the insides of the bottle so frictionless that the sludgy goo inside just slides out like water. 9 O5 z7 ?1 }) X" \! z+ @ + Q% x% ?8 z1 i+ D, F4 } jThe results are astonishing - and any burger and chips fan out there should prepare to be amazed. " w* b4 K& U/ h3 P2 P! }8 C# x公仔箱論壇公仔箱論壇* @# O* w1 b6 ?6 M8 G7 `2 H
MIT PhD candidate Dave Smith and his team of mechanical engineers and nano-technologists at the Varanasi Research Group spent two months devising a solution. : p i* L9 A$ K公仔箱論壇' k4 z, G: k/ T% Z6 q% W& g
Burger fan Smith said: 'We were really interested in - and still are - using this coating for anti-icing, or for preventing clogs that form in oil and gas lines, or for non-wetting applications like, say, on windshields.1 o7 b1 [) l- q9 h( u6 O
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'Somehow this sparked the idea of putting it in food bottles - it could be great just for its slippery properties.os.tvboxnow.com2 K4 G8 w a6 ?) T
6 S) Y! B% _) x3 n2 t2 i! m) E9 E: R) t3 Q'Plus, most of these other applications have a much longer time to market - we realised we could make this coating for bottles that is pretty much ready. I mean, it is ready, as you can see. K9 {8 J6 z* ?+ TTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。 % u! a+ p: p1 F" m) X'We had a limited amount of materials to pick from - I can’t say what they are, but we’ve patented the hell out of it.' - Y* O2 K9 m0 D+ D% E5 S6 I公仔箱論壇" B* g5 k9 W& k5 F- I# i) @- V3 q
Naturally, the team had to research their market before getting to work.0 E# i6 E- U& v
) e( p$ U# K5 h. c8 O0 \os.tvboxnow.comSmith, who is is pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering and a minor in entrepreneurship, and already holds nine patents, told the FastCo website: 'It was never really a personal pain point for me, but I do hate struggling to get sauce out of the bottles.- J+ w2 g( k1 G( l7 ^; Z" G7 J, t
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'I didn’t know about the tapping of the '57' until I started looking into this. It was all news to me.( K+ Y' ?* p T, B. ~
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'We have all types of sauces, jellies, and jams everywhere in our lab - It’s like a closet full of condiments.'tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb# e' N; C& q& M& \( M1 m" A' e
1 l, r; H; {" ]! \/ n 8 d3 F, N0 ^7 S, Ctvb now,tvbnow,bttvbFor those who cannot see the video: See how the ketchup pours like milk towards the lip of the bottle, before landing neatly on your burger or chips 0 {8 E w6 ~- \7 b- G# p0 j0 |公仔箱論壇 6 N: ?% i, O4 J3 o0 z5 Vtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb os.tvboxnow.com3 P% m$ K8 ~; z$ N3 R ]7 T
The old way: Good luck getting that last piece out...TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。* L7 v( P/ |( r& H
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So why did the team pick sauces for their award-winning product?tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb! F" v1 ?0 U% j s7 _
9 i0 w, u. F, I7 p+ D( A$ ?公仔箱論壇Dave said: 'It’s funny: Everyone is always like, "Why bottles? What’s the big deal?" 2 L! w1 v" I. v 1 J4 m2 W7 p' g3 z- ]# R8 BTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。'But then you tell them the market for bottles - just the sauces alone is a $17billion market.os.tvboxnow.com! }- D1 j3 w5 l* Z( }* b1 F6 b; e
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'And if all those bottles had our coating, we estimate that we could save about one million tons of food from being thrown out every year.') c+ S* m8 N+ Z4 E
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The secret ingredient to the liquid coating is a heavily-guarded secret, but the team promise it is non-toxic and will be FDA approved.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb [* t/ _1 X# q8 U/ U0 R8 e+ Z* m
( k3 I$ h3 m1 i公仔箱論壇The $100,000 winner of MIT's contest was perhaps a bit less jaw-dropping, but hopefully just as useful. . |, L+ |# F7 ~* Y3 c- ]os.tvboxnow.com + h% B9 L5 @! z5 L& T, q3 W( sTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。The product, called CloudTop, was created by 22-year-old undergraduate Brett van Zuiden, and aims to remove the 'Upload' button from the web, by linking all those different services - such as Facebook, Google Drive, DropBox, and Flickr - together. 9 f+ t4 F6 { K+ QTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。 4 E* J: Q' f5 bTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。'I get my burger and proceed to add all the necessary condiments: lettuce, tomatoes, onions…but oh no! ' p& V& f7 m- p% w# T, H3 E" Ytvb now,tvbnow,bttvbTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。! ^9 f6 ~* b. m* o1 o' O# q- u
'The ketchup bottle is running low! I violently shake and slam on the bottle but only manage to get a small drop out (or even worse, I spray it all over my clothes!)'tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb# j4 L# [/ G- j
Dave Smith, MIT, explains the problem 9 l4 D+ a5 F: o1 m公仔箱論壇; W D" w) s' }/ n1 C% \+ a
For example, you could drag and drop a picture file between all the different photo services without needing to re-upload and re-tag on each occasion.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。8 x7 S1 M R. d- H/ ?, r
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Team LiquiGlide was bestowed the Reader's Choice at MIT's Entrepreneurship Contest, winning a $2,000 prize - but their product is sure to reap them much more money in the future * j! g8 M: R1 V: ftvb now,tvbnow,bttvbos.tvboxnow.com9 e6 ?, x+ }4 L; G" P u d( }8 F. x/ \4 {os.tvboxnow.comNot a fan of ketchup? Mayonnaise lovers can also enjoy the magical properties of LiquiGlidetvb now,tvbnow,bttvb/ p* ^+ j5 w3 ~; X& f# B
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! D& U: d& p4 d: q1 t, BHOW TO GET THE LAST DROP 9 P% Y" u1 c& G: G+ h0 ptvb now,tvbnow,bttvbSo while we wait for the MIT team's product to come to market, how can you get that last bit of ketchup?tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb5 {! e N7 i, G L$ k1 P
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There are many tried and true methods - all of which involves some vigorous shaking, spinning or twisting, with swearing optional.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。+ x9 R1 ~; i) K* u8 t! e
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There's the windmill approach: Swing your arm around in a semi-circle and let the centrifugal forces help you out. ; J$ b$ W2 A2 k8 f1 WTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。os.tvboxnow.com9 y& `9 A) X, Q) v
Or, most common, is the 'tap-tap-tap' approach, where you hit the end of the bottle and wait for the ketchup to fall - but this normally either takes a while - or ends up covering your food with way too much sauce. ) g0 A+ K: v! g C$ H2 btvb now,tvbnow,bttvb 1 k: t6 l) k# j; ~' ]% C公仔箱論壇Heinz recommends this tip: 'To release ketchup faster from the glass bottle, apply a firm tap to the sweet spot on the neck of the bottle - the '57'. 7 e' P. k# v( E8 m' e. ~ 4 d2 @% t$ L5 d& |) j, P& H& Q'Very few people know this secret. Now you’re in-the-know.' * y4 Z/ [3 `2 j+ j8 E% }3 ^ Jtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb 3 W9 M3 }. B1 ?' @2 LWhen the bottle is completely full, a vacuum keeps the sauce intact - so use a knife to get the first bit out, and it will get easier after that. : e& \% q" V, F! W' B, x公仔箱論壇 9 P$ w _3 y; d" ZAnd store your bottle upside-down - at least that way the slow-moving sauce has less far to travel.# a9 a$ g4 L; U
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