Innovation

High-School Seniors Invent a Better Ketchup Bottle

Ketchup Boy says:
Ketchup Boy says: “I approve of this.” Photo: stuart goldenberg/Copyright: goldenberg photography

A pair of enterprising high-school students in Kansas, Tyler Richards and Jonathan Thompson, have created a fairly simple but definitely ingenious fix for the watery goo that sometimes propels out of ketchup bottles, ruining hamburgers and then some. Given the science-project prompt, “It really bugs me when …” the seniors designed what they’re calling “The ‘Shroom,” a device embedded in the cap shaped like an upside-down mushroom. A basin collects water as ketchup, and ketchup alone, squirts out a siphon in the center. It’s apparently “based on the Pythagorean cup idea,” they explain, also known as “the same principle that toilets work off of.” The duo estimates it would cost 23 cents per bottle, but that consumers would be willing to pay up to $3 for the convenience. The guys are hopefully next working on a way to prevent ketchup bottles from being used as non-lethal weapons. [Kansas City Star, Related]

High-School Seniors Invent a Better Ketchup Bottle