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MIT Creates Superhydrophobic Condiment Bottles
An anonymous reader writes "First we had a superhydrophobic spray that meant no dirt or sweat could stick to your clothes. Then a hydrophobic nanocoating was created for circuit boards to make them water resistant. Now MIT has gone a step further and solved one of the ongoing problems of using condiments: they've figured out how to make a food-safe superhydrophobic coating for food packaging. It means ketchup and mayonnaise will no longer be stuck to the insides of the bottle, and therefore there will no longer be any waste. What's amusing is this seems to be a happy accident. The MIT team was actually investigating slippery coatings to stop gas and oil lines clogging as well as how to stop a surface from having ice form on it. Now their lab is filled with condiments for continued testing of their food-safe version."
Why would Heinz et al bother paying extra so their customers don't waste as much of their product [ie, so they don't return the store and buy more sooner]?
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
Because Heinz et al can't afford the loss in customers when just one of their competitors releases a "No-Waste Bottle!". Seriously, getting the last bit out of the ketchup bottle has been a 1st World Problem since the stuff was invented. All manner of "techniques" and devices have been invented; Slapping the bottle, standing it on its cap (hence the Top Down bottles not available), inserting a knife to scoop it out...
Besides, as long as you're using ketchup correctly (an additional flavour, not the only one) they're all much of a likeness. If one company makes a bottle which has no leftover bits (which also makes recycling much easier), it'll fly off the shelves like ketchup from a hydrophobic bottle.
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