Come on, Heinz, catch up! Enterprising students create ketchup bottle that pours like milk (and it only took them two months)4 b+ X# p$ i* c/ k
By Eddie Wrenn 3 ^! T5 ]+ F! e( Z/ gPUBLISHED: 08:56 GMT, 23 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:23 GMT, 23 May 2012公仔箱論壇. r+ R3 O0 q/ u, G9 V; N: \
+ |- ?! \5 X$ L公仔箱論壇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. 5 H9 ^; ?. Q1 S4 g' r# s% i. Q2 t公仔箱論壇But now, a radical new bottle design could spell the end of that problem forever. 2 x, u6 O) s f' v9 J( ~ Uos.tvboxnow.com 9 L, Z/ N! Y7 c" Y. I* rThe 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.公仔箱論壇6 `" U+ w6 j4 ^0 N* e. C/ S
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The results are astonishing - and any burger and chips fan out there should prepare to be amazed. : S j$ |* g- A4 o2 u" nos.tvboxnow.com : ^! H! x# ^+ Y5 t% k3 fMIT PhD candidate Dave Smith and his team of mechanical engineers and nano-technologists at the Varanasi Research Group spent two months devising a solution. 2 q: D; A" ~% B& b' z * t& q4 z E0 k( S3 U/ u; L公仔箱論壇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. ; v+ D$ O) }$ S7 U1 V公仔箱論壇 # d9 P, w# v) \/ Xtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb'Somehow this sparked the idea of putting it in food bottles - it could be great just for its slippery properties.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb8 q5 w3 @9 B7 D: p3 e. B
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'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. 9 {3 z* c% x& i( Z. gtvb 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。8 l ]* ?" J" G* C" ~8 c; [ a
'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.'* W, R! E7 \0 N a; Q' c4 _% K
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Naturally, the team had to research their market before getting to work.: M$ ?; g* Y& s+ X- ?+ O
( v* P/ A& e8 u! T) D9 A# TSmith, 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. # j3 n5 u+ L4 } D, p7 i8 \/ {os.tvboxnow.comos.tvboxnow.com* b1 p O& o2 `
'I didn’t know about the tapping of the '57' until I started looking into this. It was all news to me.% j# j2 m+ ?1 y, Q6 Y( Y% x: g
0 y2 T6 f! {) f! l6 {) c- K$ s! 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。'We have all types of sauces, jellies, and jams everywhere in our lab - It’s like a closet full of condiments.' % v) X w9 ?$ S+ ?: X' ]公仔箱論壇 \2 c$ u' Y2 z0 m9 z. otvb now,tvbnow,bttvb 1 B* N3 b. [- h2 ~- k) p* R( V
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公仔箱論壇- t7 c: L7 J' e( B: N
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The old way: Good luck getting that last piece out... ' U) }! a1 e" L5 c; s4 S0 F; n' l) f公仔箱論壇 " B, T6 [( c J% JSo why did the team pick sauces for their award-winning product?9 L# q/ J8 l" X7 R; [
5 G1 K5 m" j5 a! z- R% e5 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。Dave said: 'It’s funny: Everyone is always like, "Why bottles? What’s the big deal?" # S0 y, y% @, a2 A. p4 v公仔箱論壇0 i1 O% V9 V$ z
'But then you tell them the market for bottles - just the sauces alone is a $17billion market.7 n: `$ h6 w l6 H) X
0 i9 Z' i$ L$ |% LTVBNOW 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。'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.' 8 ` m; u! W9 p5 n0 ?) k1 ]tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb( W/ [% b9 r5 R8 |/ J/ z
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. $ Z: v) g6 D5 t* j0 |) {- X/ etvb now,tvbnow,bttvb# V( Q @( ~$ e! ^: X# ?
The $100,000 winner of MIT's contest was perhaps a bit less jaw-dropping, but hopefully just as useful.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb' w# e7 Q U: `4 j/ j9 q
" j9 x1 g6 c' G& ?5 ^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.4 i" m, x% F o6 \" m. Q \
, z& M4 U4 q; Y" o. P# t'I get my burger and proceed to add all the necessary condiments: lettuce, tomatoes, onions…but oh no! $ b2 Q" u. X8 \5 C0 ^ : F+ R+ v1 @5 W: o) a0 L4 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!)' * I0 q) e% ^+ L v$ nDave Smith, MIT, explains the problem ' ~: e$ [( A) a. t, y. E# u公仔箱論壇tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb& w) n( b- `3 R
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。6 S' I c" V/ _: I% x6 L
6 w( J& |! z L3 l2 ]os.tvboxnow.com ; t0 N% {' S: s& KTVBNOW 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。Team LiquiGlide was bestowed the Reader's Choice at MIT's Entrepreneurship Contest, winning a $2,000 prize - but their product is sure to reap them much more money in the future& m5 I0 a! j) c( [
' g. G- W# H# @0 W+ f Z 2 X) x/ a: w7 T9 x. b2 E; yNot a fan of ketchup? Mayonnaise lovers can also enjoy the magical properties of LiquiGlide # o1 r7 e+ M( Q0 m8 v公仔箱論壇 / |* ^( x. ~5 lTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。; B4 L6 C) V9 N6 _
TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。+ \0 M% v5 n8 f; z1 ?9 ^4 t HOW TO GET THE LAST DROP / f/ x; y- B" ztvb now,tvbnow,bttvbSo while we wait for the MIT team's product to come to market, how can you get that last bit of ketchup?tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb* G" d+ _, Q1 a1 ]4 e, T6 v
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There are many tried and true methods - all of which involves some vigorous shaking, spinning or twisting, with swearing optional.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb* f$ Z G! ~- l
@ V( a! s& c# H- q% |公仔箱論壇There's the windmill approach: Swing your arm around in a semi-circle and let the centrifugal forces help you out.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb4 }* m& ]1 D1 \8 U# u$ Z& v
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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.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。" E7 h \# p. J
- F! d2 l% p2 T& ^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'. % i/ K) j( r3 f/ w" M* `tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb/ x) M7 T$ k" z; t
'Very few people know this secret. Now you’re in-the-know.' ) n/ S! [- X& N% ? $ F1 C/ B9 D% s. p, M- U2 @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.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。* j1 N7 _8 J2 ~2 l
: c u- a; [, ^% u4 d0 h, Eos.tvboxnow.comAnd store your bottle upside-down - at least that way the slow-moving sauce has less far to travel. 5 q T R$ o0 m' D8 T " n% X6 s7 `0 g6 a6 Cos.tvboxnow.com
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