MIT students claim they solved ketchup bottle mystery

BOSTON (WHDH) -- Getting ketchup to start flowing out of the bottle has been a long-time battle. But some engineers at MIT have found a way to make that happen.

It’s the mystery that's stumped food lovers for generations. Don’t worry -- a few MIT students say they've solved the mystery with a new type of coating that lets every last drop ooze right out of the bottle.

“We had a glass bowl and we coated the glass bowl and put a drop of ketchup, and we played with it looked at it for a couple of minutes and it works,” said Brian Solomon, MIT student.

They say the slippery coating is made up of all non-toxic, FDA-approved materials.

“If you wanted to, you could scrape the coating off and eat it and be completely safe,” Solomon said.

They call it “liqui-glide,” and in the temporary company headquarters in an MIT conference room, they can barely keep up with the demand of inquiries into their new product that could change the dining experience for billions of people.

“It’s FDA -- isn’t always healthy, and can have consequences later on down the line. So I’d rather have some stuff left in my ketchup bottle,” one woman said.

The students turned food saviors say the coating doesn't have to stop at just condiments.

“Things like anti-icing you can imagine on plane wings or power lines, there’s really a ton of things,” Solomon said.

The students say they are in talks with bottling and food companies.