MIT invention Will Finally End Your One-Sided Battle With The Ketchup Bottle

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How often have you settled down for dinner at home or in a restaurant and tried to put a dollop of ketchup or mayonnaise on your burger or alongside your fries, only to find that nothing drips out. Then, when you you wallop the bottle in frustration, it suddenly squirts all over the table! The problem only exacerbates as the amount of ketchup in the bottle depletes. In fact, very few people can honestly say that they have ever succeeded it emptying the bottle down to the very last drop. Now, thanks to some Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers that day may not be far off.

Probably as frustrated as the rest of us, the team comprising of the Varanasi Research Group's finest mechanical engineers and Nanotechnologists, spent two months inventing a revolutionary coating that turns the inside of any bottle into such a slippery slope that leave aside ketchup, not even the thickest, most stubborn, homemade jelly, can cling to it!

Called LiquiGlide, it was originally intended to be used for anti-icing or anti-clogging. However, the researchers decided shift their focus to bottles, partly to make lives of millions of people worldwide a little less stressful not to mention less embarrassing, but largely because it will be help the environment in two ways.

For one, there will be no wastage of food - The experts estimate that over I million tons of food get tossed in the garbage each year simply because it remains stubbornly stuck to the bottle - And that's just their estimate for condiments. Given that there are a myriad of other foods this applies to and the fact that the MIT scientists have yet to find a bottle that LiquiGlide doesn't work on, this could result in even bigger savings.

Then there is the larger cap issue - If you have ever wondered why these bottles always seem to have such a massive cap, it is because that's the only way the current plastic bottles work effectively. Now that the issue of the sauces sticking to the side has been solved, the caps can be much smaller, reducing plastic waste by as much as 25,000 tons a year!

So what is in this magical LiquiGlide? That, is the million-dollar question, the answer to which is only known to the team that invented it. They are however quick to reassure that all the ingredients have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and are completely safe for human consumption.

The team is now talking to a few bottle manufacturers to see if they can insert LiquiGlide into your ketchup bottle and also, trying to come up with a suitable name for their company - So if you can think of any, be sure to let them know by adding your comments below.

Resources: Gizmag.com, fastcoexist.com

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315 Comments
  • MMSAbigailBabout 12 years
    I think it is a good idea to put the LiquiGlide on the ketchup bottles because you wouldn't waste as much food or plastic. The scientists have come up with a sulution to the problem of not getting enough ketchup out or it all coming out at once. The scientists are trying to put LiquiGlide on many bottles but smoe people wouldn't want to use it because they don't think that it is completely safe for them to eat. IThink that I would not want to use the ketchup from this bottle because it would make the jelly and ketchup really watery and slimy.
    • MMSHayleyS10about 12 years
      I reallylike the idea of the coating, but A.) Wouldn't it slide out all over or B.) Make the ketchup all watery. I mean it's a good idea but... I prefer ketchup at the bottom of the bottle. This article is about the common ketchup problem, it getting stuck on the bottom . The scientist came up with this coating they put on the inside of the bottle to make all the ketchup slide out with ese. Recently, the scientist have been talking to manufactors about the product.
      • pooka
        pookaabout 12 years
        well, i LIKE my ketchup to stick to the bottle!
        • kittenlover10
          kittenlover10about 12 years
          My dad told me the thing that makes it come out is bad for you
          • zafia
            zafiaabout 12 years
            I'm afraid it may contain Toxic gases and Chemicals, because if you look at the movement of the ketchup you can see it in a fast motion it creep it's mouth and spill ALL over the ketchup. You DON'T want ketchup on you favorite white clothes, do you?
            • emilyk
              emilykabout 12 years
              All the materials used in the liquiglide are approved by the US food and drug administration and is safe for human consumption. They wouldn't sell it if it were toxic.
            • jytyuabout 12 years
              Nice, we can recycle bottles....
              • pancakepersonabout 12 years
                this is good cause you wont waste as much ketchup and plastic
                • g19
                  g19about 12 years
                  There are less waste in food.Scientists hav yet to find a bottle that liquiglinde dosen't work on, this could result in even biger savings
                  • g06
                    g06about 12 years
                    andreas opinion. i think it will lower plastic and have more kethup because you cant have any left in the bottle
                    • g19
                      g19about 12 years
                      There will be not as much waste in food.Scientists have yet fond a bottle that liguiglide dosent work on this cold result in even biger saveings