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Video: "LiquiGlide" Invention Liberates Stubborn Ketchup From Its Glass Prison
By
Nell Casey
Published May 23, 2012
Modified May 23, 2012
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By
Nell Casey
Published May 23, 2012
Modified May 23, 2012
Share
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In today's Un-Useless Inventions news, researchers at MIT have developed a product that tackles the very real problem of getting ketchup to come out of the bottle. We've all been there: futility pounding on the glass for a few fevered minutes then finally jamming a knife in there to release the pent-up tomato product trapped inside. Now, with the advent of LiquiGlide, our days of ketchup rage might finally be over!
The "structured liquid" has the rigid components of a solid but is "lubricated like a liquid," according to creator Dave Smith. Smith and his team at the Varanasi Research Group used ingredients already approved by the FDA to make sure there were no hitches when it came time to patent the product, though initially they didn't develop it for use with food. "We were really interested in...using this coating for anti-icing, or for preventing clogs that form in oil and gas lines," says Smith. "Somehow this sparked the idea of putting it in food bottles." Mmm, tasty!
The inside of each condiment bottle would be sprayed with the substance before adding any food product, meaning that in the future your mayonnaise will detach itself from the walls of the container with nary any effort on your part. Currently Smith is in talks with several bottle manufacturing companies to secure LiquiGlide's place in ketchup innovation history along with the squeeze bottle and green ketchup. For now, content yourself with this video demonstrating the product's lubricating powers.
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liquiglide
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Nell Casey
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