Come on, Heinz, catch up! Enterprising students create ketchup bottle that pours like milk (and it only took them two months)* D* J2 H$ Q" ?# V
By Eddie Wrenn
# ?6 i/ b7 D# w# M( _9 P) Qtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbPUBLISHED: 08:56 GMT, 23 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:23 GMT, 23 May 2012TVBNOW 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。# }! l t7 n0 r" E# x( P! N
- e1 v* D+ S) p) K+ I/ Q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.www2.tvboxnow.com" B: Y9 C- }8 k) j1 r: e! j" Y1 _
But now, a radical new bottle design could spell the end of that problem forever.www2.tvboxnow.com' X _" I' U8 |+ x l$ j- Q/ K
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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.! V+ L9 w* I) E* ~1 z
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The results are astonishing - and any burger and chips fan out there should prepare to be amazed.
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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.
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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.
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'Somehow this sparked the idea of putting it in food bottles - it could be great just for its slippery properties.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb# i R' F" o, f& [5 x/ \2 _
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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.
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- ?' X4 C0 L% C$ J' Etvb now,tvbnow,bttvb'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.'
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Naturally, the team had to research their market before getting to work.
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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.
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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.
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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.'
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1 ?/ D5 d- A1 l3 x" RFor 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
& d1 W" C" t/ H) [+ d' m公仔箱論壇tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb" N K# E+ H5 a! Z) k( @% j
' s) F {8 b6 V# Q' i1 [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。The old way: Good luck getting that last piece out...
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- u- o% D* g e8 x: {% P3 d, Itvb now,tvbnow,bttvbSo why did the team pick sauces for their award-winning product?tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb6 H/ p9 l+ w- V: c* Z0 c' s: j
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Dave said: 'It’s funny: Everyone is always like, "Why bottles? What’s the big deal?"tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb, I, O3 h5 s; T1 e2 h
5 D# _& \ b8 M* {& f- o8 utvb now,tvbnow,bttvb'But then you tell them the market for bottles - just the sauces alone is a $17billion market.+ e( ]6 n- k3 U4 \8 z4 j
7 E) t( c, x7 k6 B. U% ]! M'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.'tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb/ U' d; g+ g4 x; }; D8 K
9 x, n4 o* O9 n( o5 htvb 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.
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The $100,000 winner of MIT's contest was perhaps a bit less jaw-dropping, but hopefully just as useful.
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/ B. M# e7 |- T. {* _The product, called CloudTop, was created by 22-year-old undergraduate Brett van Zuiden, and aims to remove the 'Upload' button from the web, by linking all those different services - such as Facebook, Google Drive, DropBox, and Flickr - together.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb3 Z# S3 l7 H0 [ R1 I: i0 _$ H& l
6 y, M( P) ^% D: h }tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb'I get my burger and proceed to add all the necessary condiments: lettuce, tomatoes, onions…but oh no!
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% \% A9 S1 h) A ywww2.tvboxnow.com'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!)'www2.tvboxnow.com3 p1 P: m* i( v$ |3 f
Dave Smith, MIT, explains the problemtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb, x7 Y2 R7 r. C5 l( M
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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.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb5 n9 k' B- ?- i7 O9 O% @; u; c
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Team LiquiGlide was bestowed the Reader's Choice at MIT's Entrepreneurship Contest, winning a $2,000 prize - but their product is sure to reap them much more money in the future; \; x$ O; |4 s, ?' D
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. g( Y {0 i; r7 s8 u9 i; \公仔箱論壇Not a fan of ketchup? Mayonnaise lovers can also enjoy the magical properties of LiquiGlide
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HOW TO GET THE LAST DROP
, ?, m# n4 E. p, O6 XSo while we wait for the MIT team's product to come to market, how can you get that last bit of ketchup?4 p; X, s/ }. E V# h( O
- _% P7 j1 C0 @1 V! Utvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThere are many tried and true methods - all of which involves some vigorous shaking, spinning or twisting, with swearing optional.2 s7 X+ }3 Z% O8 n' n3 k
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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.
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, l. ~0 q ~- s$ u- q/ |www2.tvboxnow.comOr, 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.5 l+ t) [" ?8 N, t, ]/ T# \5 m
2 {# U" b/ @4 }5 O( D6 t; Htvb now,tvbnow,bttvbHeinz 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'.www2.tvboxnow.com) m& z$ l7 l* s4 I$ `* H
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4 q( F( v9 I3 W mWhen 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.公仔箱論壇6 g) f t) {1 q9 B: O
% Y2 |7 T4 m+ \9 i( U ?* {" FAnd store your bottle upside-down - at least that way the slow-moving sauce has less far to travel.
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發表於 2012-5-24 08:03 AM
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