Come on, Heinz, catch up! Enterprising students create ketchup bottle that pours like milk (and it only took them two months) , ^2 g5 k& u3 P) HBy Eddie Wrenn: K) V P7 b. t2 _" n0 ]8 f- Z J
PUBLISHED: 08:56 GMT, 23 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:23 GMT, 23 May 2012www2.tvboxnow.com4 _* [: l/ a! @) E
/ p+ Y. p3 Y' ~% ~9 S* j, ?7 `# G7 dAny 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.( t% y0 G9 K. ~; E' | H# H. E
But now, a radical new bottle design could spell the end of that problem forever.: F; a/ u! N7 Q2 y! y* i- D
5 U# }+ J% `0 R7 j) c2 aThe 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. ; `; |: U, i& D% z# 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。 , r1 N2 ]! N! S z) [tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThe results are astonishing - and any burger and chips fan out there should prepare to be amazed. ) Q- D7 D2 z6 t, H9 f L* T6 Nwww2.tvboxnow.com2 n' E N5 S8 ?' _# |4 [) W# a1 e# U
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. . W! R5 d6 ~( x" B* d" ]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。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。( Z L# E4 j3 Y1 |
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. - D6 ?; t! {/ \: E6 V: m公仔箱論壇公仔箱論壇$ X, c; ?" f' a Y
'Somehow this sparked the idea of putting it in food bottles - it could be great just for its slippery properties. 2 H- F1 Z( L$ O, w0 Q$ M' 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。公仔箱論壇# g; J+ Y `& c4 ^+ X0 b' D# G
'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.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。7 O# X/ G* A) {5 @' I
+ k5 ^9 V8 n, [9 wtvb 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.'tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb; r2 Q1 a4 F3 K$ l$ ^! b
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Naturally, the team had to research their market before getting to work. ( c4 o9 `9 e( C2 N5 _0 M 7 y: C9 ]' K) K; 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。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.www2.tvboxnow.com/ C8 Q0 P' d) J _3 J9 F
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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.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb- X C' }; g7 d+ Y
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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.' ' e2 H; {* x$ Q2 l8 y" b公仔箱論壇tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb% f& o7 m5 T0 y3 e" K6 M0 [
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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 chips & j) w t8 }& G& A1 Z7 Q公仔箱論壇 l6 c; n1 I' @公仔箱論壇 3 T' _, E/ b. \$ d1 r. zThe old way: Good luck getting that last piece out... + p. X; @! `1 u8 ?2 b4 S2 Q7 I % W8 M7 _: J! D% XSo why did the team pick sauces for their award-winning product? c* m: a8 I' g! B- G % B1 {2 g! w* S" U: b1 ODave 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。- e9 F* ?! ]3 O# }9 M
# z z* x* `1 _0 g# U'But then you tell them the market for bottles - just the sauces alone is a $17billion market. + h( K% {/ x& i* ?) {4 n( V) mwww2.tvboxnow.com ! y8 S% Y9 ] E( B0 Z; G6 i0 Bwww2.tvboxnow.com'And if all those bottles had our coating, we estimate that we could save about one million tons of food from being thrown out every year.' / k9 D' ]' u# N1 [) G$ I* E - L' e8 _: o+ X5 J2 ]tvb 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. . s0 z: d- \9 ~: F3 L- x- ctvb now,tvbnow,bttvb4 ^- q! c& z8 |, t
The $100,000 winner of MIT's contest was perhaps a bit less jaw-dropping, but hopefully just as useful. ' J; w2 c" ^3 X- }) Y% {7 i5 L公仔箱論壇 2 ?) I" N% ]- z1 ?3 \tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThe product, called CloudTop, was created by 22-year-old undergraduate Brett van Zuiden, and aims to remove the 'Upload' button from the web, by linking all those different services - such as Facebook, Google Drive, DropBox, and Flickr - together.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。8 B4 P6 @* y! ^6 K3 j
# D$ {2 I6 m( w'I get my burger and proceed to add all the necessary condiments: lettuce, tomatoes, onions…but oh no! P; J3 C2 a8 V1 y+ _( K. N$ y 9 f5 y3 s4 L8 l& T/ u公仔箱論壇'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!)'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 \" x& T, _& Y9 @. k" t& K
Dave Smith, MIT, explains the problem , c, f- \9 f3 y6 |& H2 S. @' 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。 + I0 P3 Q' ?9 b( v! r1 g" 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。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.+ Z3 I/ l8 Z& o
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- u$ n5 L y- j* ttvb now,tvbnow,bttvbTeam 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. M3 j+ X! ~3 G0 i- O# O
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. [0 O# M7 T( `& Z2 K W# nNot a fan of ketchup? Mayonnaise lovers can also enjoy the magical properties of LiquiGlidewww2.tvboxnow.com \7 r4 w5 |( V) Z1 j
4 J, p# w2 r! n2 O' X6 Y6 `www2.tvboxnow.com # p( ^: f* ~( F; J5 Zwww2.tvboxnow.com ) [3 z: U N. |0 V% i1 }: |2 kwww2.tvboxnow.comHOW TO GET THE LAST DROP H* _+ K. C; }
So while we wait for the MIT team's product to come to market, how can you get that last bit of ketchup?; v3 p# w; L& L% |8 U/ w
u; x6 N- B) k" l0 |www2.tvboxnow.comThere are many tried and true methods - all of which involves some vigorous shaking, spinning or twisting, with swearing optional.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 D, o# Y3 o2 d# H4 J
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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.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。- Z) y% Q2 ~7 o& \( _
* K! }3 U7 R) ~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. ; v, L" a0 t8 d+ n9 w ' e# E5 u& `/ `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'. , x7 t2 h+ M, U7 t2 _公仔箱論壇 0 h" u) G0 i& V* ~tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb'Very few people know this secret. Now you’re in-the-know.', C8 _! {, I: `" Z2 e; X" e0 q/ j
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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.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb- ?$ H. Q. |& e% A
; }% y9 b& b; U# ]% ?+ dtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbAnd store your bottle upside-down - at least that way the slow-moving sauce has less far to travel.www2.tvboxnow.com) W2 P" [/ {$ [9 z% {2 r