Come on, Heinz, catch up! Enterprising students create ketchup bottle that pours like milk (and it only took them two months)* o8 Q7 x) J" ], t |8 f
By Eddie Wrenn * u1 d; S7 o- G+ Gwww2.tvboxnow.comPUBLISHED: 08:56 GMT, 23 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:23 GMT, 23 May 2012 4 k4 t* e( z) \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。 # ~4 n2 y" a" t, U! x, T" n" e& c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. " u& x& E- `( X7 T# E; L$ b2 m/ t( s1 k公仔箱論壇But now, a radical new bottle design could spell the end of that problem forever.2 X8 ^! Y: d( ?4 Z
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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.% h1 g v9 e7 i* S
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The results are astonishing - and any burger and chips fan out there should prepare to be amazed. ' I( u; _" h, z# x& Q! Ftvb now,tvbnow,bttvb* L5 m4 l9 R& A+ F& }+ z
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.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。, c( l! a9 s2 t6 s' A
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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. $ n5 @' b D7 T5 O; _: [" L9 C8 ptvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 f c1 `; V9 w2 B9 e1 S4 L. X+ c
'Somehow this sparked the idea of putting it in food bottles - it could be great just for its slippery properties." Y( k3 W# |& j9 A: r7 a5 T" V
9 H" x3 E0 u4 p2 y/ O7 Zwww2.tvboxnow.com'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.公仔箱論壇9 r* N% t% z2 `4 l- U/ o; A
! `& L: t& Q- B" k* c'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.'8 t) j1 }9 R7 K1 k+ Q* y
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Naturally, the team had to research their market before getting to work.. ?# U8 f* u+ n) m. z! |+ ], p
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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。# c' U& L/ l2 M4 \) ~; 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. 9 H& I) _# W* T! t _- G% e# t 3 E9 M8 \; W4 u0 g4 s ttvb now,tvbnow,bttvb'We have all types of sauces, jellies, and jams everywhere in our lab - It’s like a closet full of condiments.'tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb2 O- w# J' a' j+ H' L+ p
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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 chipstvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ P" P% b* g0 ] T" R
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The old way: Good luck getting that last piece out... " x6 y' { B3 C+ ?8 uTVBNOW 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% ]1 X& d- g2 D3 }% n, P: a* Z
So why did the team pick sauces for their award-winning product? 6 L& f. l) V u; p- h* O s ; Z9 c2 p& E; l$ S' @0 VDave said: 'It’s funny: Everyone is always like, "Why bottles? What’s the big deal?"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。: E/ |+ e; g9 G: _. h" l
& N- k& R- |7 y$ }9 e! z" U'But then you tell them the market for bottles - just the sauces alone is a $17billion market.7 F) M( o" d( X
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'And if all those bottles had our coating, we estimate that we could save about one million tons of food from being thrown out every year.'TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。# I* b* V& w6 z& Q, v4 C+ a
5 ^5 M: _; d4 c) nwww2.tvboxnow.comThe secret ingredient to the liquid coating is a heavily-guarded secret, but the team promise it is non-toxic and will be FDA approved. ! @% I. @3 h3 u ) G+ W9 v) ]6 R9 z+ ~$ ~The $100,000 winner of MIT's contest was perhaps a bit less jaw-dropping, but hopefully just as useful. # t1 x2 k; W& x 6 D+ X# A. T+ _& A" }0 p+ q1 Hwww2.tvboxnow.comThe 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.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。( e- ?% j5 Z' J `" A# f( h& h9 g+ i
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'I get my burger and proceed to add all the necessary condiments: lettuce, tomatoes, onions…but oh no! : r) P. Z) I* e6 j' L公仔箱論壇% k' g. ?, F0 U- G' w9 W
'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,bttvb2 X' o5 s7 @; S2 i! _2 C4 q+ o
Dave Smith, MIT, explains the problemtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb. P6 A; J5 J) G9 I2 V* j! A- k/ K# O. y
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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. ' z4 D; x9 n' T& h. otvb now,tvbnow,bttvb 8 J3 M* c3 Q8 g& ^ 3 W( [9 a5 H1 T4 g1 I" cTeam LiquiGlide was bestowed the Reader's Choice at MIT's Entrepreneurship Contest, winning a $2,000 prize - but their product is sure to reap them much more money in the future- ~) @7 \8 U2 [
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Not a fan of ketchup? Mayonnaise lovers can also enjoy the magical properties of LiquiGlideTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。' o1 ~2 c1 v" [) F
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tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb$ S2 B! v% K- q, d HOW TO GET THE LAST DROP ; g% A9 R" e; T% O* p7 y0 X' J; z公仔箱論壇So while we wait for the MIT team's product to come to market, how can you get that last bit of ketchup?公仔箱論壇2 P3 W5 D. x2 Z* R! N
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There are many tried and true methods - all of which involves some vigorous shaking, spinning or twisting, with swearing optional. $ R2 l4 \2 ]& b% n' `" t2 `9 YTVBNOW 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。2 Q: w, e5 x# g; ?) H1 F
There's the windmill approach: Swing your arm around in a semi-circle and let the centrifugal forces help you out. 4 b5 h1 @2 {. Y' X. `* k" C) @3 `* ]tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb公仔箱論壇1 u) w' Q( `! B; z- v& 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. , @: a2 U& c; D+ \6 s6 _www2.tvboxnow.com ) D+ X0 a; m) g. \6 kwww2.tvboxnow.comHeinz 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'.公仔箱論壇% j* A1 ]( y& i- q, v, n0 m
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'Very few people know this secret. Now you’re in-the-know.' $ Y% K6 U! C, }: g5 z4 ~tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb & l0 D) _! i5 y% k/ F/ r3 gWhen 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.6 K& O/ Y8 t' R; T2 ?* {# x
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And store your bottle upside-down - at least that way the slow-moving sauce has less far to travel. . v" _ m4 Q3 z$ D% D& @8 Itvb now,tvbnow,bttvb # a& Q% {+ s+ ?( V3 p" Owww2.tvboxnow.com
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