Until now, getting the last bit of ketchup, glue, mayo or paint out of a bottle or container has been almost impossible. But a new non-stick coating invented by a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology looks to change that.
Despite the fact that TFA has more than a hint of a 'slashvertisement', there are many potential applications for the technology. The coating in question makes the inside of a container permanently wet and slippery allowing glue or other similar substances to slide right out of the container instead of sticking to the sides. Reducing waste and saving people money by allowing them to use all of the contents of a container makes this a win-win solution.
Tests by Consumer Reports in 2009 found that much of what we buy never makes it out of the container and is instead thrown away—up to a quarter of skin lotion, 16 percent of laundry detergent and 15 percent of condiments like mustard and ketchup.
(Score: 5, Funny) by TLA on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:35PM
After reading that a tear welled up. A half teaspoon of mustard gone to waste is a disaster of biblical proportions.
Please, won't you think of the mustard!?
Also, every time you don't swizzle your finger around in an apparently empty mustard jar, God kills a kitten. Think about that, too.
Excuse me, I think I need to reboot my horse. - NCommander
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:44PM
In other words, keep weirder substances from touching our food
(Score: 2) by WizardFusion on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:47PM
Good. I don't like kittens.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Wednesday March 25 2015, @04:00PM
Not even with mustard?
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Wednesday March 25 2015, @05:46PM
No. Mustard is for Weiner Dogs. Ketchup is for kittens.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @06:12PM
Please, it's spelled catsup.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday March 26 2015, @06:25PM
I'll just leave this here.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUhTKMBXWNg [youtube.com] It's the hot dog and the cat's meow.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:48PM
yeah multiply that teaspoon by a billion.
plus as the partnership with ELMER'S shows, it's not just for food
(Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Wednesday March 25 2015, @04:04PM
Food? Hey! I'm just beginning to cope with all the Bisphenol! [wikipedia.org]
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:52PM
Is this some sort of pr0n thing where we're supposed to substitute "mustard" for something more fun? I'm not feeling creative enough to figure out this crossword puzzle although it sounds like you're on to something good.
When I read the article I immediately thought of the usual pr0n related applications. I wonder if the biochemists have ever tried a contraceptive technology that boils down to making it infinitely slippery in there, like teflon. Ridiculous as it sounds I'm not entirely kidding around. If absolutely everything just floops out after the fun, I would guess pregnancy would be unlikely. Perhaps the real problem is reversing the effect later in life, its easy to line everything with teflon or real non-stick coating (real coating as opposed to Chinese walmart non-stick coating which is just black paint) but getting all of it out later is likely puzzling. Not like you can just dissolve it out with fuming hydroflouric like teflon.
More on topic the medical people already have solutions (oh the pun) for this problem called syringes and bags. So this spray plus a "jar" has to be cheaper than simply putting stuff in a bag or blunt syringe, which sounds challenging.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:58PM
Perhaps one can use this new non-stick material for sexual intercourse instead of the usual glide lubes?
Or to avoid tearing in machines.
(I do however suspect the material must adhere to a solid surface to work)
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:13PM
Binary thinking detected. Why not both at same time?
(Score: 2) by AnonTechie on Wednesday March 25 2015, @07:51PM
Why not the inside of a toilet ?
Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Thursday March 26 2015, @06:47AM
Or...maybe time to short K-Y jelly stock.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday March 26 2015, @11:04AM
That however requires a risk where you can owe more money than you put in.
(Score: 2) by theluggage on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:22PM
After reading that a tear welled up. A half teaspoon of mustard gone to waste is a disaster of biblical proportions.
No, the disaster of biblical proportions is when people throw away nearly full pots of mustard because of the "keep refrigerated and consume within 3 weeks of opening" notice that now seems standard even on condiments, preserves and other things that would probably be perfectly edible if you'd just exhumed them from an Egyptian tomb.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by splodus on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:47PM
My missus chucked out a gallon of pickling vinegar that was a month past it's sell-by. We had used the other gallon a couple of months earlier to make chutney, some of which we are opening now, twelve months later :)
(Score: 2) by TLA on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:51PM
I still have half a gallon of lime chutney left from a batch I made in 2008.
Still edible. And hotter than hell. I used ghost chillies. >:]
Excuse me, I think I need to reboot my horse. - NCommander
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:22PM
You should be fermenting instead
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday March 26 2015, @03:42PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:44PM
digesting this wonderful new food..err..antifood?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:46PM
"Exclusive licensing agreement" with Elmer's? Get it in food/condiment containers already.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by kaszz on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:46PM
So how hazardous is the coating in itself?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:51PM
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday March 25 2015, @01:55PM
WRT weasel words about "parts of foods", op might be amazed at what a suitably motivated organic chemist can make out of a big enough pile of atoms present in food.
(Score: 2) by Kromagv0 on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:49PM
Hell you probably don't need to even be an organic chemist. You'd be surprised at what can be made out of some charred wood, piss, and other common compounds.
T-Shirts and bumper stickers [zazzle.com] to offend someone
(Score: 2) by CirclesInSand on Thursday March 26 2015, @08:55AM
...what can be made out of some charred wood, piss, and other common compounds.
Gunpowder?
(Score: 2) by Kromagv0 on Thursday March 26 2015, @02:02PM
but most people don't seem to know that.
T-Shirts and bumper stickers [zazzle.com] to offend someone
(Score: 2) by TLA on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:55PM
could be cellulose based. All I can think of it being, really.
Excuse me, I think I need to reboot my horse. - NCommander
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday March 26 2015, @05:46PM
Yeah, I'm guessing it's micro-porous cellulose, basically a glorified sponge, which is filled with whatever will go into the container. So if it's a ketchup bottle, the cellulose 'sponge' is full of ketchup. Presumably the pore size needs to be customized to the viscosity of the contents.
Even if it wasn't edible, it sure would improve cleanout on everything from oil tankers to bottles of glue, saving a huge amount of waste every year. Remember that if you can't get that oil tanker completely empty, some of the oil gets shipped back when it's sent for refill, which if nothing else wastes the fuel needed to transport that much stuck to the container. Trivial per load but massive in the aggregate.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1) by Buck Feta on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:00PM
After using containers coated in this stuff, nothing will be able to be absorbed by your intestines.
- fractious political commentary goes here -
(Score: 5, Funny) by VLM on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:14PM
That reminds me of the last time I ate at taco bell.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Buck Feta on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:29PM
Olestra anyone?
- fractious political commentary goes here -
(Score: 2) by TK-421 on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:45PM
Olestra? Isn't that the one that took the Cleavland Steamer from obscurity to mainstream?
(Score: 2, Funny) by Buck Feta on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:05PM
With the emphasis on stream.
- fractious political commentary goes here -
(Score: 5, Funny) by EvilSS on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:42PM
It contains ingredients known to the state of California to cause hypochondria
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Aichon on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:11PM
That was my first thought as well. I've seen hydrophobic coatings being used to help ketchup slide more easily down surfaces, but it was only a demonstration video, since most of those coatings are toxic, will wear off over time, and are thus not food safe. If this is a nontoxic coating that can be used to similar effect, great. If not, then ketchup is not going to happen.
Moreover, even if it is nontoxic, what incentive is there for Heinz or whoever else to increase their costs and reduce the need for consumers to purchase their product? After all, this coating would presumably cost them more during manufacturing, and it also allows their customers to use more of the product in each bottle, thus decreasing the need to buy more. Seems like a lose-lose to me. The only win is that they can claim it's better for the environment since it reduces waste, but ketchup bottles aren't exactly major contributors to landfills, and most people buying ketchup really don't ask themselves whether one bottle is 5% less wasteful than another.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by VLM on Wednesday March 25 2015, @05:03PM
I had the same thought about the journalistic swing of the story toward consumers. However I bet the Heinz company itself would buy the product to line the cauldron or tank or mob grinder or reactor or whatever it is that creates ketchup to save cleanup labor costs. Probably any food processor would like cheaper faster cleanup, I mean, why not, especially if its food safe. Assuming the total lifetime system cost of "stuff" plus cleaning crew labor is less than slightly more cleaning crew labor hours.
Another weird idea I had about an hour ago is in the unlikely event its autoclave-stable there might be medical device applications. I would imagine that aside from cleanup, surgical instruments that are splatter proof might be useful while in the process of surgery. Scalpel can't slip in your fingers because its gross if its physically impossible for gross to stick to it. That led me to think of butcher shops and I wonder what cutting gear or maybe completely new technologies might be possible and I can't think of anything but something this weird must be monetizable somehow.
I don't particularly care if its green or organic or edible but if I could line the inside of my garbage can with something unstickable, then my garbage can wouldn't be as stinky in the summer. I suppose I could spray it with a dash of silicone but anaerobic fermentation might make it even worse than leaving it alone, which led me to think food safe might mean the rotting products would be less offensive or less likely to support anaerobic fermentation.
I also wonder if it could be used as a "green" scotchguard like spray on fabrics and upholstery and carpets and stuff like that. A real, non-greenwashed product replacement like that would be handy. I don't wanna buy watered down floor wax with green food coloring and leftie marketing, I'm looking for a real replacement product that is not so icky as the real thing.
So aside from the obvious sex jokes and pandering as a consumer food product it might actually be useful semi-industrially for several other uses.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by FatPhil on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:00PM
The other benefit of tubes is for foodstuffs - less air gets in contact with the contents so your tomato puree's less likely to turn fluffy.
I'm perturbed, to a state of disbelief, by the wastage figures in TFS. I can't imagine how to waste more than a percent of laundry detergent - imagine leaving a sixth of the volume in a 1L bottle - so 160ml, now swirl that around to coat the sides of the bottle completely. Let it sit - does it all stay at the side? I know it's gloopy, but nope, it does not. If people are too stupid to not throw away the container as soon as the flow turns to a trickle, and to not turn the bottle upside down and let it drain towards the cap, then the problem is not fluid adhesion, the problem is human stupidity. Working around human stupidity if anything encourages that stupidity. I know my shampoo happily sits upside down for several washes before I finally throw it away (which will be after rinsing the bottle too in this instance).
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:19PM
Um I cut the tube in half when it's no longer producing via squeezing, and then scrape my toothbrush inside each half as needed.
I had a little key, like from a can of sardines, that let me roll and unroll the tube very tightly as it ran out of paste, but I found cutting it in half lets me get everything out more easily.
I am not particularly cheap, but I try not to waste, and this is a no cost way to save. (Imagine that! no upfront costs unless you don't believe in scissors.)
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday March 25 2015, @05:12PM
What would you estimate your yield is from your "toothpaste c-section" technique AC? I'm guessing you only get about one use, tops?
I have occasionally puzzled why toothpaste isn't sold in reusable pump containers much like hand soap, so I could pour from a 5-gallon sams club bucket into my toothpaste dispenser to top it off. Probably too many morons trying to wash their hands with toothpaste, maybe some viscosity issues. Toothpaste might actually make a pretty good hand soap. I suspect hand soap makes an inferior toothpaste...
If AC were really hardcore as his toothpaste c-section anecdotes indicate, AC would be making his own wire for electronics projects by holding a copper penny tightly in two hands and pulling very hard to stretch the penny into a piece of wire. I know some cheap ham radio guys like that, they're always good for a laugh.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:21PM
I have actually thought about this whole thing once in a while after i learned about coatings like this from a science magazine like maybe 15 years ago.
I'm as shocked as you are of the figures given. In my mind i've been playing with like a 1% or 2% for sticky stuff like mustard and lots less for really liquid stuff. Even at 1% think about it, 1 container out of hundred is wasted. Does not sound like much, but once you start multiplying it to actual figures and think of the weight and space it takes and causes fuel consumption, it's starting to sound a lot.
There is also the energy used to make the coating + possible damage it causes, so it could depend on what is being consumed wether the coating is "cost" effective.
I've heard of these sorts of coatings many, many times and the only thing i worry is that i bet it's going to be patented (and probably rightfully so), but i also bet that the patent owner will make it so expenssive, that no one will use it for another 20 years.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:45PM
If you want to sell people something that reduces waste, the first thing to do is to exaggerate the waste so they feel like they have to buy your product.
Whether you can get mainstream brands to buy this thing is a very different topic. The Whole Food crowd will pay the premium if you advertise it correctly, but I'd bet the majority of condiments get consumed by the Walmart crowds.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday March 26 2015, @10:59AM
This reminds me of a rant I was having just a couple of days ago. I'll bore you with it. The town I live in is modernisning. The open-air market I shop at, where little old ladies book a table for a day if they have something from their garden or kitchen to sell (which most still label in Russian even though that's not been an official language since independence) is basically dieing, even more so since a supermarket arrived right next door last year. You don't get much more "whole food" than these little old ladies' wares - their garden plots naturally produce more mushrooms than they can eat or sell, so they don't need chemical fertilisers or any crap like that. However, when the market is eventually razed, and a chrome-and-glass shopping centre monstrosity built in its place, you can be sure that there will be some "Whole Food" shops selling basically the same thing to hipsters at ten times the price that I and the little old ladies who were buying off the other little old ladies are paying right now. That's not progress. (Unless you're a property developer, or an investment banker, or other slimebag who cares nothing for the social consequences of his actions.)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 5, Funny) by RobotMonster on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:07PM
Damn, now we need better glue.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:22PM
I wonder if this is the same thing as hydrophobic materials they've been trying to coat the spout of coffee pots with, so that they don't dribble when you pour. I could see this being quite helpful for windshields, too. RainX doesn't seem to last that long.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by Alias on Wednesday March 25 2015, @05:17PM
I wonder what the optical properties of this coating are. The problem with stuff like Rain-X, in my opinion, is that it leaves the windshield hazy for a long time. It isn't noticeable in the daytime, but at night, incident headlight beams scattering off the coating make it very hard to see anything except incident headlight light.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by WillR on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:23PM
Reducing waste and saving people money by allowing them to use all of the contents of a container makes this a win-win solution.
"So let me get this straight, you want us to a lot of spend time and money integrating this new wonder coating into our container building and filling lines, and then in return the customer will reward us by buying 15-25% LESS of our product? How about no!" -- A major consumer product brand manager who did not wish to be named in this story.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:25PM
No, what he said was "Great! We reduce the size of the package by 25% and redesign it in colors the whole family will enjoy, and we recoup the costs, leave the price unchanged, and keep the money rolling in!"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Rivenaleem on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:58PM
Except it would be more like: "If customers think they can get more value from our products, because they have a non-stick inner coating, we might get more customers?" It is the same argument people make about big pharma not making a cure for cancer when they are happy to simply keep treating it. What's the point of curing it forever when you can keep customers coming back to you for treatments!
The truth is more like (morality aside) whatever company comes up with a universal solution for cancer, or condiments sticking to the inside of a bottle, becomes the market leader overnight, and possibly forever more.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday March 25 2015, @07:01PM
I have certainly never heard of a manufacturer offering "20% More!" of a product for "Free". That would be crazy!
(Score: 2) by WillR on Wednesday March 25 2015, @07:43PM
(Score: 3, Interesting) by lentilla on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:23PM
I hate it when I have to throw the remainder of a product out because the expiry date passed. Examples of things that fall into this category for me are cyanoacrylate ("super glue"), mayonnaise and hand cream - the kind of products that are nice to have on-hand but only get used occasionally. One always tries to optimise the size of the package in order to minimise wastage but there comes a point where the packets don't come any smaller or it's significantly cheaper to throw out the remaining product.
I'm not sure I waste much in the other category (the "stuff left in the jar when it gets tossed away"). I'm certain the way I was brought up just makes it feel wrong. It's not like I go to ridiculous lengths to eke out that last percent-of-a-percent, but the urge to finish something is instinctual. I wouldn't describe it as onerous either - I think it's good to be mindful of what we consume and try to minimise our footprint.
I've read about these coatings before and (whilst not tending to profligate waste on a regular basis) I am looking forward to their utilisation in a variety of household applications. Tomato sauce ("ketchup") containers come immediately to mind. A slippery interior (and self cleaning lids) should reduce the amount of accidents where the sauce goes flying across the room as somebody tries to shake out the remainder.
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Wednesday March 25 2015, @02:50PM
> mayonnaise
Nest time you're in a fast food joint, scoop up a pocketful of those single-serving mayonnaise sachets and keep them in your kitchen. Perfect for occasional use.
I do the same thing with sugar, since we barely use any ourselves, but sometimes a visitor comes around and wants sugar in their tea.
(Score: 2) by tynin on Wednesday March 25 2015, @08:24PM
Agreed that the fast food joint condiment packets are extremely ideal in proportion and size. Needs no refrigeration, and is highly portable for hiking / camping. I wish they'd just give me the option to buy these packets in bulk and not have to take extras home.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Thursday March 26 2015, @01:53AM
Umm, you can buy those in bulk, just look up restaurant supply. In Michigan I would recommend Gorden's Food Service.
http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Mayonnaise-Free-16-Ounce-Packets/dp/B001652KK6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427334719&sr=8-3&keywords=mayonnaise+packet [amazon.com]
Amazon too, although I think they are more expensive
(Score: 4, Funny) by fritsd on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:14PM
First, the joke:
Q: "Do you know how copper wire was invented?"
A: "No?"
Q: "Two Dutch men fought for a cent"
I believe (no proof) that many of the frugal Dutch have the following kitchen utensil:
de flessenlikker [wikipedia.org] (Norwegian invention apparently! what?!?11?)
It works really well for ketchup etc.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Wednesday March 25 2015, @04:02PM
That is exactly what I've been looking for since I discovered the joy of the chicken n pasta carbonara bake.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @05:57PM
The punchline is supposed to be "Two Jews fought over a penny".
(Score: 4, Insightful) by fliptop on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:40PM
In the SF novel The Mote in God's Eye [amazon.com] the main character is fascinated by the aliens' "frictionless pipes" that allow disposal of wastes w/o flushing w/ water. Seems like this product would be an excellent candidate for that purpose.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @03:47PM
Liberating the last drops of mustard, ketchup and glue is a less-interesting situation to me. What I want is this on toilets and urinals so that residue is not left behind and less water might be used. It would certainly improve the new, waterless urinals.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Wednesday March 25 2015, @04:07PM
The droplet is riding on a layer of steam like a hovercraft
That might be how hovercraft work where you come from, pal, but around here...
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @05:31PM
However, a steam powered hovercraft could be seriously awesome. Course you probably would run out of fuel pretty quick getting the water up to temp and the massive reservoir of water you need :)
Still would be a sight to behold...
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday March 26 2015, @10:29AM
When you say "steam-powered hovercraft" are you thinking "man shovelling coal into a furnace" or "on-board nuclear reactor"? Either one would be impressive in it own way, but I need to know whether I'm ordering polished brass and leather or lots of chrome-plated dials with needles that wave about meaninglessly.
As for the the water problem... you could suck up water from beneath you as you go (except when travelling over land, obviously) or if you go for the nuclear (fission) option above, you could make your own water.
For Science!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 25 2015, @06:42PM
Yeah, seriously. My hovercraft is full of eels!
(Score: 1) by MostCynical on Wednesday March 25 2015, @10:10PM
The waste is therefore huge!
http://www.foodbeast.com/2014/04/22/american-consumption-in-pounds-and-money/ [foodbeast.com]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex