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The secret to getting ketchup out is to give it a good shake, then hit the heel of your hand "upwards" on the top of the bottle, near where the neck meets the body (on the 57 or not, doesn't really matter). The upward force is what counts, and it somehow gets the ketchup to come out relatively smoothly. Most people strike downwards, and that's why it doesn't work. If you don't believe me, try it! Learned this trick from my uncle.

I'm guessing the functional principle here is somehow related to vacuums, those pop-tops on the new Miller beer cans, etc.



Ketchup is a non-newtonian fluid. This means that in low levels of force it's very thick - almost a solid.

But if you speed it up (for example by shaking), it thins out and pours like water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-newtonian_fluid


I believe the physics concept behind this is:

- An object will remain in the same state of motion (or rest) unless acted on by a force.

When you hit up on the bottle, you are applying a force primarily to the bottle. The force is applied to the sauce inside to a much lesser degree, so it stays closer to a state of rest. Therefore if the bottle goes up and the sauce stays at rest, it has the effect of moving the sauce down to the neck of the bottle.


My "secret" is to hold the bottle in my hand and swing my arm in a large arc, using centrifugal forces to pull the ketchup towards the mouth of the bottle.

(With the cap on, obviously).

SCIENCE


the only problem to this method is when it slips and the bottle ends up in the neighbors window.


"when it slips and the bottle ends up in the neighbors window."

Or someone forgets to put the top back on properly and you end up redecorating your kitchen.


The solution here would be, to just be careful.

Sorry, but coming from Europe, we have a bit of an understanding, that products can't be responsible for the "dumb" use of their users.

If a bottle ends in the window of your neighbor, is it your fault or the bottles?




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