
How to empty the ketchup bottle every time and improve power plants too - chang2301
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21711015-and-improve-power-plants-too-how-empty-ketchup-bottle-every-time?cid1=cust/ednew/n/bl/n/2016121n/owned/n/n/nwl/n/n/AP/8258163/n
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bitL
How to empty ketchup bottle 101:

\- close the lid

\- take the ketchup bottle in your hand holding it upside down, possibly
covering the lid to make sure it stays closed

\- swing your arm forwards-backwards rapidly

\- ??? (let the physics do its job)

\- ketchup!

~~~
drfuchs
Yeah, better change step 1 to " _tightly_ close the lid". Else hilarity and
big dry-cleaning bills ensue, as I learned the hard way.

~~~
0003
>How to empty ketchup bottle 101

201 delves into the nuances

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barking
The squeezable upside down ketchup bottles have already solved this to my
satisfaction. I need someone to solve the other great issue our times, how to
preserve the fizz in a 2 litre bottle of coke after you consume part of it.

~~~
CraigJPerry
After pouring, crush the bottle enough to dispel most of the air so that the
fluid is a few mm from the cap and replace the cap tightly.

~~~
FreeFull
This doesn't help at all, unless you take steps to keep the bottle from
uncrushing as carbon dioxide inevitably comes out of solution. What does help
is keeping your drink refrigerated, because gases dissolve better in cold
water than in hot.

~~~
barking
So if you do take steps to prevent the bottle from uncrushing would it work
then? Some sort of a simple vice, perhaps?

~~~
FreeFull
Right, then as the carbon dioxide pressure builds, it'll reach equilibrium
sooner, so not as much will end up out of solution.

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saycheese
Sides of the tube being slippery would just cause a blob of ketchup to come
out; worse case, if it was a hard cylinder with no inward facing lip and a
release in the for the vacuum created by the ketchup in the tube, all of the
ketchup would just fall out in the space of the cylinder.

Key to getting ketchup out is knowing it is a non-newtonian fluid:

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-
Newtonian_fluid](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid)

Specifically, it's shearing thinning:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shear_thinning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shear_thinning)

Few options are:

(1) Shake it a lot first, then pour;

(2) Jolt the bottle with a hard bump, then pour;

(3) Give it a little time in a single direction to get moving with the pouring
end open and downward facing.

~~~
seanp2k2
My favorite method is centrifugal; hold the bottle by the non-pouring end with
the cap firmly tightened and give it a good fast swing with your arm (be
careful not to break it on anything). This will move all the ketchup to the
neck of the bottle (might require a few reps). Then, unscrew, and holding the
bottle where you wish to dispense product, using your palm just above where
your palm meets your wrist, tap firmly on the neck of the bottle just below
(as the bottle is now facing downward, just slightly towards the open end) the
curve onto the neck while shaking the bottle up and down, with an exaggerated
downward "stabbing" motion.

~~~
Declanomous
I did something similarly clever when I was about 10. My parents still
occasionally find a ketchup stain in some far corner of the kitchen or
attached den.

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anonymfus
Can it be used in inkjet printers to make printheads last longer and save the
ink wasted on cleaning?

~~~
o_____________o
"lol" \- printer manufacturers

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joggery
With the advent of squeezable bottles the new problem is how to prevent the
socially awkward squelching noise.

~~~
wmeredith
Talk to my 6-year old: that's a feature, not a bug.

~~~
mjevans
I agree, but from a restaurant perspective. Hearing that distinct change in
sound for a bottle that's being squeezed while empty can lead to a quick
replacement by attentive staff.

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williamjackson
I am reminded of my favorite poem[0]:

"Shake and shake / the catsup bottle / none will come / and then a lot'll."

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Armour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Armour)

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dekhn
The articles about this guy come out every year. It always says they're
"working with ketchup manufacturers". But the reality is that the ketchup
companies already said "no, we don't want to put this in our containers
because our customers go 'ick' when we do that".

It's like the gecko tape. Every year, press release about how it's going to
transform the world then you realize it's still in the lab and the R&D
companies don't want to touch it.

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gkfasdfasdf
Tap the 57 while holding the bottle in the pour position. It really works.
From the Heinz Trivia [0] page:

What's the best way to get Heinz ketchup out of the iconic glass bottle?

To release ketchup faster from the glass bottle, apply a firm tap to the sweet
spot on the neck of the bottle— the "57." Only 11% of people know this secret.
Now you're "in-the-know."

[0] - [http://www.heinz.com/our-company/press-
room/trivia.aspx](http://www.heinz.com/our-company/press-room/trivia.aspx)

~~~
rory096
>Only 11% of people know this secret.

Sounds like a feature discoverability problem. Does Heinz have a UX team?

~~~
dTal
For something that is neither written on the bottle nor a popular cultural
meme, 11% actually sounds implausibly high to me.

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Salamat
Hold the bottle upside down with the lid open facing the plate/sandwich, hit
the bottle against the palm of your other hand
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4uqcC6rz2Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4uqcC6rz2Q)

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hobarrera
Companies will look forward to using this, since it means that products (eg:
toothpaste) will run out faster (probably due to people using more when it
slips out easier), producing more demand.

~~~
sparky_z
Wouldn't it be just the opposite? If, say, 5% of the ketchup is currently left
in the bottle when it's thrown away, that means customers who buy the new
bottles will get 5% more usable ketchup for their money. As long as they're
careful when pouring, they would have to buy new bottles less often.

~~~
flueedo
I would imagine that in the sense of "usable product" for costumers, things
will level out somehow.

But waste would certainly be lessened within certain steps of production. For
example, sometimes you have containers used for long distance transportation,
which you can't remove all of a product from, and you have to wash in between
refillings.

~~~
flueedo
*customer

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jstoja
I can imagine how many applications there could be in more expensive products
like makeup for example. Looking forward to have this in our daily lives :)

P.S.: "Open sauce operating system"... wat?

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z3t4
I use _centrifugal force_ to empty bottles. It also works for ink pens,
yoguhurt packages etc. Instead of shaking it, make whipping motions, or swing
it, with the _opening out_. Just make sure the lid is on! You can also use a
baking roller if it's a soft tube.

[https://www.howitworksdaily.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/08/F...](https://www.howitworksdaily.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/08/Force.jpg)

~~~
z3t4
why is this down voted ?

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RangerScience
> to steer the droplets around. One is to create new types of microfluidic
> devices—or labs-on-a-chip

So.... Theranos is less impossible?

~~~
SomeStupidPoint
The problem with Theranos isn't microfluidics and labs-on-a-chip, since lots
of other people manage to use that successfully.

Rather, the problem with Theranos is that a small amount of blood from an
extremity surface won't necessarily be representative and is easy to
contaminate, so you can't get reliable data from it.

~~~
mcguire
Plus, it's not necessarily a good idea to hire random people to run lab tests.

------
mcguire
" _Open sauce operating system_ "

I love the Economist.

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rebootthesystem
Zen Option: Be patient. When the ketchup is ready to come out it will. Place
it on the counter upside-down. Go do some gardening. Yoga. Meditate.

Physics Option: Centrifuge. Not only does it work, it's the law. Close lid
firmly. Point the bottle down. Hold firmly. Spin in large circles. Switch arms
if tired.

Physics Option, Extreme Edition: Grab 4 or 5 Walmart (or whatever) grocery
bags. Place one inside the other to form one thicker, stronger bag. Place
bottle in bag pointing down as much as possible. Remove people and animals
from general area. Move way from hanging fans, lights, etc. Grab from handles
and spin around at high speed. Works great for Mayo and most other higher
viscosity bottled goods.

Environmental Option: The universe doesn't want you to consume this stuff any
more. This was your last bottle. You are done. Post about it on Facebook.

Mechanical Option: Find a hydraulic press of at least 1 ton capacity. Place
the bottle in it. You might have to sandwich it between two metal plates to
cover the more of the bottle. Have the end point in the desired direction.
Remove the cap. Squeeeeeeeeez while you catch the ketchup in a cup. Does not
work very well for glass bottles.

Chemical Option #1: Place it upside-down in a bath of warm water. Should flow
nicely after that. Or is that physics?

Chemical Option #2: Fill with water. Shake vigorously. Empty into sauce pan.
Boil off water until desired consistency is achieved. Or, is that physics?

Pessimist Option: The bottle is empty. Forget it.

Optimist Option: Get a gallon jug of ketchup. Re-fill the small bottle. The
bottle is full.

Aerospace Option: Place bottle upside-down on a vibration test fixture. Run
through a full 6 minute simulation of an orbital launch mission.

Motorsport Option #1: Travel to local skid-pad. Get going as close to 1 g as
possible. Point bottle radially outward.

Motorsport Option #2: Get in Tesla. Point bottle to the rear. Engage the most
insane acceleration mode. Gun it.

Motorsport Option #3: Sneak into a crash test facility. Strap bottle to the
car, point it forward. Conduct crash test against solid wall. Retrieve bottle
while pretending to check sensors.

Baseball Option: Pitch the bottle. Have someone hit a home run. Does not work
well for glass bottles. Does not work well, period.

Soccer Option: Strap bottle to ball. Have a player kick a penalty shot. Have
them fall to the ground and pretend they are hurt for five minutes.

Golf Option: T-off and smack it with 9 iron. Will not work well for glass
bottles.

Model Rocketry Option: Strap to rocket. Ignite.

For everything else there's Mastercard.

------
SixSigma
Most savory sauces

1) Add Vinegar

2) Shake

3) Pour

------
flexie
Off topic:

Would it be possible to submit links to walled off websites like the Economist
as google searches? Maybe there could be a tick box that, when selected, made
the link into a google search like this:

[https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+empty+the+ketchup+bot...](https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+empty+the+ketchup+bottle+every+time+and+improve+power+plants+too)

~~~
nfriedly
The 'web' link under the story does just that ;)

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aluhut
If this is the non-sticking coating thing behind the pay wall, here is an
article from 2013 readable for everyone:
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2356793/No-
wh...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2356793/No-whacking-
ketchup-bottle-Scientists-develop-non-stick-coating-help-sauce-slide-out.html)

~~~
cgvgffyv
You're probably not British, so I'll point out that the Daily Mail is on par
with Fox News.

Don't link to it.

~~~
rkangel
I'm British so I'm biased, but while I hate the Daily Mail with a passion, I
have also spent a lot of time in the US with Fox news constantly on in the
break room, and the Daily Mail is nowhere near as bad. The amount of naked
bias shown in your average 5 minutes on Fox is breathtaking to someone coming
from the UK. The Daily Mail also makes _some_ attempt to make sure that what
it's talking about is in some way related to reality which is not a feeling I
always have while watching Fox (particularly when Fox is talking about the
UK).

Wow, I've just defended the Daily Mail. This is a weird feeling.

~~~
pjc50
It is weird. There are effectively three sides bundled into the Daily Mail,
and one of them is a genuinely there-with-the-news global reporting
organisation (OK, so it's built on AP/Newswire, but usually a bit more
informative).

The other two are the highly flamebait opinion columnists (Littlejohn,
Hopkins) and the "women's" coverage for non-feminist women: celebrities,
clothes, "sidebar of shame" and so on. The latter is hugely profitable and
popular for some reason. A unique combination of slut-shaming while at the
same time telling you where you can buy the outfit.

~~~
aembleton
The latter two fund the reporting organisation. The Daily Mail are actually
profitable, whereas The Guardian are struggling financially.

~~~
razakel
>The latter two fund the reporting organisation. The Daily Mail are actually
profitable, whereas The Guardian are struggling financially.

The Guardian is financed by a trust. It doesn't necessarily need to be
profitable.

However, yes, it is currently hemorrhaging money.

