MIT’s Freaky Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

Fast Coexist ^ | 5/22/2012 | Austin Carr

[bkopto]

When it comes to those last globs of ketchup inevitably stuck to every bottle of Heinz, most people either violently shake the container in hopes of eking out another drop or two, or perform the "secret" trick: smacking the "57" logo on the bottle’s neck. But not MIT PhD candidate Dave Smith. He and a team of mechanical engineers and nano-technologists at the Varanasi Research Group have been held up in an MIT lab for the last two months addressing this common dining problem.

The result? LiquiGlide, a "super slippery" coating made up of nontoxic materials that can be applied to all sorts of food packaging--though ketchup and mayonnaise bottles might just be the substance’s first targets. Condiments may sound like a narrow focus for a group of MIT engineers, but not when you consider the impact it could have on food waste and the packaging industry. "It’s funny: Everyone is always like, 'Why bottles? What’s the big deal?' But then you tell them the market for bottles--just the sauces alone is a $17 billion market," Smith says. "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."

Check out what happens when you pour ketchup out of a LiquiGlide-coated bottle:

[US Navy Vet]

And later they will find out that it causes cancer!

[hoagy62]

It even works with mayonaisse! Hallelujah! Nobel Prize!

[FrankR]

I haven't bought a Heinz product since Kerry made and ass of himself running for President...(not that it takes that to make him an ass).

We have switched to "Hunts" ketchup, and it tastes much better, more like tomatoes...AND, it's much cheaper.

I think a lot of people must have done this, too, as when I first bought Hunt's, it was available in the small bottles only, but since they have come out with new packaging, with the large (upside down) bottles and other improvements. Maybe sales picked up for them, thanks to John and TereZa.

[SparkyBass]

why would a company pay money for a product that would cause consumers to buy their product less frequently?
that’s a wrench in the whole “crashing by design” works.

[taxcontrol]

Interesting, I wonder if there would be any practical benefit to applying this to the hulls of boats / ships.

[wally-balls]

Add tablespoon of water....shake violently. Problem solved now pay me

[listenhillary]

LiquiGlide, a “super slippery”

No one has mentioned... ?

[blueunicorn6]

I just stand the ketchup bottle on its head and all the ketchup drops down to where it can be squeezed out. They don’t teach gravity at MIT?

[wally-balls]

Add tablespoon of water....shake violently. Problem solved now pay me

[Graybeard58]

I haven't bought a Heinz product since Kerry made and ass of himself running for President.

Same here, we also switched to Hunt's and it does indeed taste better.

[blueunicorn6]

Dear MIT; I am applying to become a perfess...profiss....instructor at your skool. Do you have ketchup for the fries at the faculty buffet, or are you trying to figure out how to get that last glop out? I can help. My salary range is two bits - a gazillion dollars. Love and kisses! blueunicorn6

[GOPJ]

Teflon for food? Yum... /s

[PGR88]

Think how it could revolutionize sports.

Apply it to the outside of football and rugby uniforms, for example.

Still waiting for the flubber shoes.

[SampleMan]

Lard?

[jonno]

If you ingest this stuff, do you end up with a slippery colon? Make sure that these MIT guys are not also buying stock in the Depends manufacturer...

[SgtHooper]

Haha, exactly! Just add some water, shake, and it all rolls out.

[ZinGirl]

up next from MIT:

[GraceG]

[ If you ingest this stuff, do you end up with a slippery colon? Make sure that these MIT guys are not also buying stock in the Depends manufacturer... ]

Could be sold as a diet aid...

Just like the Aperture Science Repulsion Gel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b5xLQelDxE

Don’t know what element it is made out of, but it is a lively one..

[OB1kNOb]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, while these brilliant MIT geeks are making such critical, important discoveries, this 15 year old high school freshman discovers a simple, inexpensive way (costs 3 cents) to test for early detection of pancreatic cancer........

Remember the name – Jack Andraka