Come on, Heinz, catch up! Enterprising students create ketchup bottle that pours like milk (and it only took them two months); {; \' |2 [7 e d
By Eddie Wrenn # S; i6 ~/ D2 ]9 Sos.tvboxnow.comPUBLISHED: 08:56 GMT, 23 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:23 GMT, 23 May 2012 |9 s w. c, f4 r$ _2 d3 U4 Ltvb now,tvbnow,bttvb# R: F$ T) Z: l# u" x
Any 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. 7 K3 V7 z W2 k5 X) F" y, ABut now, a radical new bottle design could spell the end of that problem forever.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb& Y4 A: P. B7 o; G* r2 m
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The 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.1 d: B) V9 E2 Z! m6 T2 r
$ D0 k1 Y% v+ t* S! `os.tvboxnow.comThe results are astonishing - and any burger and chips fan out there should prepare to be amazed. # E9 E0 f; E! Q- e4 W, _1 Q- F5 ? - |0 F4 U0 ~& y( v2 J5 atvb now,tvbnow,bttvbMIT PhD candidate Dave Smith and his team of mechanical engineers and nano-technologists at the Varanasi Research Group spent two months devising a solution. : n* Y r9 ~- @) L2 h公仔箱論壇 6 Y( z+ j2 L5 MTVBNOW 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。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. ) e) D# a% n( n \* j( ~ : A9 R4 i6 I( S e" F" G w公仔箱論壇'Somehow this sparked the idea of putting it in food bottles - it could be great just for its slippery properties.公仔箱論壇- Y; M( h+ N4 _( M# t
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。: _/ K& a7 I' U9 [2 p" J$ O7 s/ E8 Y
'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.os.tvboxnow.com- t& o5 _: M# k$ A4 J2 v
" Q) K0 v% q& s! j5 Y/ K' D" u; Bos.tvboxnow.com'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.'公仔箱論壇$ V" p' f j+ ~
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Naturally, the team had to research their market before getting to work.8 H" _: e" q" L& [6 I
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Smith, 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.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。( T( Q/ q9 [- d& O* B4 W. |2 w
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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. 7 C, ]5 V# [+ t0 | ] : B; u6 I3 y9 J8 U7 {'We have all types of sauces, jellies, and jams everywhere in our lab - It’s like a closet full of condiments.'os.tvboxnow.com5 g! W( U+ y" |2 V: E+ N
4 S4 A$ o9 s; q8 ^3 ^4 c 6 c! W/ w1 I3 F& ?) q7 r* v( f1 a公仔箱論壇For 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; P; q. F6 R% {/ }- z2 n
tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb' s; n6 O4 j) B+ } 8 C5 B3 `1 j, g: ^; cThe old way: Good luck getting that last piece out...公仔箱論壇: Z2 |: H' |0 }. v
" X; F6 Q3 C4 |9 i! PSo why did the team pick sauces for their award-winning product?公仔箱論壇# U0 L( ?4 o7 J$ M7 y5 r w0 H# K7 X
! V+ i+ v. w5 yDave said: 'It’s funny: Everyone is always like, "Why bottles? What’s the big deal?" . i* l3 Q3 Z) q' ]" x4 E公仔箱論壇# w, |. L) F# V/ c, _' B% F
'But then you tell them the market for bottles - just the sauces alone is a $17billion market.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb Q2 b+ @0 I. s4 _: d8 p4 {- L
/ D# R* W3 D- p- u+ x/ q8 \os.tvboxnow.com'And if all those bottles had our coating, we estimate that we could save about one million tons of food from being thrown out every year.'os.tvboxnow.com4 u5 e1 ?$ S+ O
% g3 t( w9 a6 B" otvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThe secret ingredient to the liquid coating is a heavily-guarded secret, but the team promise it is non-toxic and will be FDA approved.公仔箱論壇; Q$ l8 p4 e0 R3 y. I6 [
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The $100,000 winner of MIT's contest was perhaps a bit less jaw-dropping, but hopefully just as useful. . M# [; L4 G3 A7 v9 ]% ^公仔箱論壇9 p2 J( O0 T; D' v" Q0 H$ Q
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. + L' \/ B5 Z# l( q* |3 @+ X8 P z2 S+ k. E8 A- i; B c
'I get my burger and proceed to add all the necessary condiments: lettuce, tomatoes, onions…but oh no! 6 R2 V7 J w: A2 W5 Z " C" |' r/ x3 w' N: C% x6 jTVBNOW 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 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!)' 8 W2 h- J! a" J3 T' Btvb now,tvbnow,bttvbDave Smith, MIT, explains the problem: Y) w# ~+ v" t( B3 W7 o4 }
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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. 9 J9 W8 o$ I, L7 ^# aTVBNOW 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。$ M0 Y* S) ~' D, a+ ~0 V & M7 k" s1 d0 z+ k9 a
Team LiquiGlide was bestowed the Reader's Choice at MIT's Entrepreneurship Contest, winning a $2,000 prize - but their product is sure to reap them much more money in the futureos.tvboxnow.com6 M( n. D" |$ ~
# G5 ~3 }6 r1 H8 p# @ P : }5 ~4 W+ D, s: ~: O公仔箱論壇Not a fan of ketchup? Mayonnaise lovers can also enjoy the magical properties of LiquiGlide公仔箱論壇* G% Z/ `2 \& h- D; I. a
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公仔箱論壇 x4 S6 V5 l# ?( q" Y$ C; h HOW TO GET THE LAST DROP 0 t2 J0 D7 n$ fSo while we wait for the MIT team's product to come to market, how can you get that last bit of ketchup? 8 j. u# ~* n0 r" OTVBNOW 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。tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb$ w! C0 Y* Z3 w+ b* G1 w! R* s
There are many tried and true methods - all of which involves some vigorous shaking, spinning or twisting, with swearing optional. 3 |& q ~! e& r: a5 c: ?3 }5 M& ]/ O/ b& `6 q( A, m
There's the windmill approach: Swing your arm around in a semi-circle and let the centrifugal forces help you out.4 d2 U' J! C* A" k# B' D
! ]! W7 [) m* U8 p) A& q MOr, 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.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb; e: _$ L% _& z( A2 n8 i
) w+ C! {" W" L) A+ R6 M& e& SHeinz 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'. 0 U2 z6 s7 { x/ _tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb ( ^0 v* }0 a$ T: n5 @* [7 ^公仔箱論壇'Very few people know this secret. Now you’re in-the-know.' 1 V6 ^( c: k. }* G4 Y$ dtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb. H8 n/ t* ]- P
When 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.' `9 E" B" `3 z* s; M. p' C+ Q
/ y: C" k( } Y y/ JAnd store your bottle upside-down - at least that way the slow-moving sauce has less far to travel.公仔箱論壇/ F7 y9 Z' s! F! n0 U
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