Picking up condiments, how does it work?

March 27, 2011 11:18 PM

Have you ever looked at a goopy mess of ketchup and mustard and though, "I wish I could somehow pick this up with perfect precision and transfer it to some other surface?" Well, now you can*!

* Disclaimer: may require special surfaces, special equipment, and/or video editing. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. For external use only. Call your doctor if your condiments retain shape for 4 hours.

posted by kmz (76 comments total)

Would that also work with a modified Polaroid camera?
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 11:27 PM on March 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

WHAT
posted by doublehappy at 11:31 PM on March 27, 2011 [11 favorites]

I want one!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:36 PM on March 27, 2011

WHY
posted by biddeford at 11:36 PM on March 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Wow, that's really interesting. It looks like a little conveyor belt, if you peer closely at the surface.... as it extends, the material stays still, and the roller pulls more out from the bottom. So as it touches the condiments, the surface doesn't move -- it kinda gets shoved underneath the goop. I assume that material must be highly repulsive to whatever chemicals are in ketchup/mustard. As it retracts, they just fall off without sticking.

However, I suspect the surface underneath may be made of the same stuff... when he uses the cookie sheet instead, it doesn't pick up nearly as well, but it also leaves nothing behind. So I think there's a pretty good chance it may not work very well on a regular table or counter.

Still pretty eye-popping to watch, though. Not something you see every day.
posted by Malor at 11:42 PM on March 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Because, biddeford - sometimes you don't just want to clean up the mess on your table easily. Sometimes you also want to put the mess on someone else's table and have look exactly the same.
posted by koeselitz at 11:42 PM on March 27, 2011 [18 favorites]

I have finally read a YouTube comment that I agree with, and that comment is, "WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING"
posted by queensissy at 11:43 PM on March 27, 2011 [23 favorites]

Wonder how long that will take to show up in CSI [some place].
posted by Soupisgoodfood at 11:43 PM on March 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

OMG THIS WILL TOTALLY REVOLUTIONIZE... SOMETHING!
posted by mingo_clambake at 11:44 PM on March 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

But will it work on melted cores?
posted by mrnutty at 11:44 PM on March 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

SWEET. perfect for accidental art. mixed up beauty. the sort of street gunk i take photos of with my phone

or something like this classic ad/art
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 11:52 PM on March 27, 2011

Might be interesting for painting with oil. Plop down or pick up blotches of paint, like in Photoshop.
posted by stbalbach at 11:53 PM on March 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

I'm convinced it Magic until someone shows me otherwise.
posted by AzzaMcKazza at 12:00 AM on March 28, 2011

Brrrrrrrrrt.

Bzeerrrrrrrrrrrrt.
posted by zippy at 12:02 AM on March 28, 2011 [10 favorites]

The perfect gift for the adolescent prankster with shy bowels.
posted by ryanrs at 12:03 AM on March 28, 2011 [4 favorites]

I see pooper scooper utility here in NYC.

Here's their website http://furukawakiko.com/, this cool clean up gizmo comes under their SWITR section (Special World Idea Technology Revolution).
posted by nickyskye at 12:12 AM on March 28, 2011

it's.

A WITCH!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:12 AM on March 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

That is a thing.
posted by Artw at 12:18 AM on March 28, 2011 [6 favorites]

Burger joints everywhere will rejoice.
posted by Felex at 12:19 AM on March 28, 2011

The best practical use I can think of for this device is preparing decorations for cakes and plates. It would let the user perfectly sculpt whatever they want to lay down without having to be worried about making mistakes.

I was really impressed when it picked up the smears.
posted by zephyr_words at 12:20 AM on March 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

The future has arrived!
posted by brundlefly at 12:27 AM on March 28, 2011

I would like to take this back to that traumatic morning when I was 8 when my dad totally put disgusting ketchup on my eggs for me, all quick and unavoidable-like.


NO DAD. NO. Ketchup on YOUR head.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:29 AM on March 28, 2011 [13 favorites]

I was really impressed when it picked up the smears.

That's the part that convinced me that it's a "demonstration" or "concept art" and done with video effects.

The edge of the little conveyor belt extending thing is too thing to slide under a smear, and in fact the edge is rarely close enough to the surface to really slip under a pool of ketchup.

I'm having a hard time believing that there's a material that is sticky enough to hold a semi-liquid in place like that, but non-sticky enough that it doesn't leave a single trace or residue on the material.

Can anyone translate the URL in the video? I mean, more accurately than google translate?
posted by loquacious at 12:40 AM on March 28, 2011

Koreans are awesome.
posted by hal_c_on at 12:47 AM on March 28, 2011

Koreans are awesome.

...
posted by kmz at 12:49 AM on March 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm guessing that the device was placed firmly against the surface. That would help a lot.
posted by Soupisgoodfood at 12:54 AM on March 28, 2011

Japanese Koreans?
posted by -->NMN.80.418 at 1:02 AM on March 28, 2011

That url on the video was furikuri.com, right? Because it would explain a lot. Excuse me, I have to let a robot burst out of my head.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:12 AM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Good opportunity to use the chindogu tag, doncha think?
posted by GoingToShopping at 1:22 AM on March 28, 2011

Koreans are awesome.

ㅇㅁㅇ;;;
posted by battlebison at 1:23 AM on March 28, 2011

I won't believe this is a real thing that is actually happening in the real actual proper world until a Science Person comes along and gives an explanation. So, okay, it's being done on a glass surface, it would seem, but wouldn't that slidey-thing have to be approximately a molecule thick and wouldn't the glass have to be essentially frictionless? And deposited back on the glass surface without anything stuck to the slidey-thing? Yeah, I just don't buy it for the moment.
posted by tumid dahlia at 1:58 AM on March 28, 2011

The company does have a video of a practical application of the technology: http://furukawakiko.com/product/page135.html

Seems like the application they have in mind is where you have a (sweets) dough extruder / shaper that produces a serial sequence of food products, and you would like to transfer these into several parallel lines onto another conveyor belt (not uncommon from watching food factory videos...) for more efficient (parallel) further processing.

The trick with the ketchup and mustard I suspect works due to their thixotropic properties (for industrially produced versions which commonly contain xanthan gum or similar stabilisers), meaning that they become liquid when exposed to shear forces (such as those produced at the nozzle of the bottle when squeezed), but have stable gel properties otherwise.

The metal spatula shown later in the video exposes the ketchup/mustard to significant shear forces and therefore disturbs the gel; in contrast, the mini conveyor belt lip of the "SWITL" minimizes shear forces allowing the ketchup/mustard to stay in their gel state.

Of course it is also probably necessary for the "glass" to repel the ketchup/mustard so that it lifts onto the SWITL without shear forces being produced.
posted by Morbuto at 2:25 AM on March 28, 2011 [15 favorites]

It doesn't stick because of the material or coating the belt is made of. It doesn't go under the belt because it's being pressed down firmly against the surface. It doesn't pile up because it has some structural integrity -- enough to allow it to be forced up onto the belt, rather than being pushed forward or off to the side, like a puddle of water might have done.
posted by Soupisgoodfood at 2:25 AM on March 28, 2011

NEED TO KNOW WILL THIS WORK ON TOOTHPASTE
posted by meadowlark lime at 2:30 AM on March 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

@meadowlark lime: toothpaste should work.

According to the wikipedia I should have said "shear-thinning" not thixotropic... Though thixotropic is commonly used to describe the property in food applications.
posted by Morbuto at 2:35 AM on March 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

I feel like we should be burning somebody at the stake and I don't know what to do with that feeling.




But I admit that this does work better than the old ATM receipts I usually use for this task.




NEED TO KNOW WILL THIS WORK ON TOOTHPASTE

That looks like it's an emergency. Is it? I can't help or anything, just checking.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:57 AM on March 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

But will it work for my career?
posted by the noob at 3:06 AM on March 28, 2011 [4 favorites]

hal_c_on: "Koreans are awesome"

Those inscrutable Orientals!
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:43 AM on March 28, 2011

Friction fiction
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:49 AM on March 28, 2011

I'm sure it has scientific uses, but in the kitchen, I'm gonna keep on using paper towels
posted by Redhush at 3:54 AM on March 28, 2011

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
posted by AndrewKemendo at 4:09 AM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Malor has it right. The device is basically a spatula with a roll of water/grease repelling film over it. The device is placed near the smear and the spatula extends forward. As it moves forward the roll of film is pulled out from underneath the spatula and pushed (together with the spatula) under the smear. As the film rolls over the spatula's lip its motion tends to pull the smear up and onto the film. Once the smear is actually on the film it's motionless relative to the table, so there's no reason for it to be pulled or stretched. Clever, but probably only works on special non-wetting surfaces.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:10 AM on March 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Smallprint: Does not work on trousers, white shirts/blouses, expensive jackets, pricesless paintings. For use only on surfaces that are wipe clean in the first place.
posted by MuffinMan at 4:14 AM on March 28, 2011 [4 favorites]

Am I a bad person for thinking up a bunch of Rule 34 applications?

Perhaps SWITL is the new MILF?!
posted by chavenet at 4:19 AM on March 28, 2011

This is going to turn out to be McDonalds trying to patent the sandwich again, isn't it.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:27 AM on March 28, 2011

Am I a bad person for thinking up a bunch of Rule 34 applications?

Yeah, like what? "Oh god my parents are home. Time to reposition...my ejaculate! Ha ha ha!"
posted by tumid dahlia at 5:29 AM on March 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Another good youtube comment:

I think I saw an aperture logo on it!

posted by memebake at 5:34 AM on March 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

This is going to turn out to be McDonalds trying to patent the sandwich again, isn't it.

It's actually Nathan Myhrvold setting us up for a 200 lb cookbook sequel.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:32 AM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Am I a bad person for thinking up a bunch of Rule 34 applications?

Am I such a boring person that I can't even think of one?
posted by desjardins at 6:38 AM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

I was going to guess that there was some electrostatic forces keeping the mess floating above the conveyor belt. But this video seems to be most distinctive for having useful Youtube comments. For instance, with the help of Google Translate, I now know that

устройство для собирания кошачьего кала

means "a device for collecting cat feces". I can't wait 'til I'm in a conversation where I can make use of this.
posted by benito.strauss at 6:57 AM on March 28, 2011

I was pretty sure that the 're-depositing' sequence was just the 'pickup' played in reverse. There seemed to be a few dodgy edits suggesting this.
posted by anazgnos at 7:10 AM on March 28, 2011

If he had seen this, Ferran Adrià would never have closed El Bulli.
posted by gwint at 7:16 AM on March 28, 2011

That video needs narration by the shamWOW guy. Really.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:28 AM on March 28, 2011

Does anybody know how to get in touch with him?
posted by Wolfdog at 7:31 AM on March 28, 2011

Wolfdog: Does anybody know how to get in touch with him?

Call your local jail?
posted by 47triple2 at 7:46 AM on March 28, 2011

Am I a bad person for thinking up a bunch of Rule 34 applications?

Two Girls? One cup? NO PROBLEM!!
posted by Trochanter at 7:49 AM on March 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

Silicone spatula.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:59 AM on March 28, 2011

Does anybody know how to get in touch with him?

With this spatula, you can not only touch him but get him in his original shape.
posted by storybored at 8:02 AM on March 28, 2011

Does it work under Kardashians?
posted by anothermug at 8:04 AM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

In the future this is how pancakes will get on rabbits' heads.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:10 AM on March 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

Don't now if anyone has mentioned this yet but but reddit learned that the reason this was invented was to place many balls of dough on a huge baking sheet in commercial baking.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:19 AM on March 28, 2011

When I was a kid, my parents bought stuff in bulk to save money. One of the items we determined was not suitable for bulk-buying was ketchup--at least, in its original container. See, this was long enough ago that the bulk ketchup came in a glass bottle, not plastic. And kids are clumsy.

One night at dinner, my brother passed the ketchup to me, and for some reason he held it out over the floor instead of the table. One or the other of us lost their grip on it, and it tumbled down to the floor, which was tile, and shattered. The glass went everywhere, but the ketchup was a single huge red puddle.

My dad suggested leaving the ketchup there until it dried, and we could just pull it up in one piece, and maybe even keep it as a frisbee.

Ketchup Puddle!

We thought this was a fantastic idea. It was too late to save it, make it a science project! We came up with all kinds of potential uses for a dried Ketchup Puddle.

Sadly, my mother has no sense of humor. My brother and I even had to clean the puddle (and the glass), since we dropped it.
posted by galadriel at 9:22 AM on March 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

"Have you ever looked at a goopy mess of ketchup and mustard..."

I have never looked at mustard. I refuse to.


"Burger joints everywhere will rejoice."

*ahem*

5> Greasy burger joint
7> Employees must wash their hands
5> Just like Pilate did

#haiku #athb
posted by Eideteker at 10:08 AM on March 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

Am I a bad person for thinking up a bunch of Rule 34 applications?

Am I such a boring person that I can't even think of one?

Are you kidding? Your watching it now! Look at the way it picks it up and puts it down...

That's hot.
posted by quin at 10:13 AM on March 28, 2011

Add in a funky porno bass line, replace my "your" to a "you're" and you've got one sexy comment.
posted by quin at 10:17 AM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

With this extra large version, you can relocate your entire swinger's party, fluids and all.

"Everyone, we're moving to the kitchen table!"
posted by orme at 10:49 AM on March 28, 2011

WTF is going on here!
posted by jnnla at 11:36 AM on March 28, 2011

Am I a bad person for thinking up a bunch of Rule 34 applications?




This is going to turn out to be McDonalds trying to patent the sandwich again, isn't it.


I just combined those two in my mind. I don't know what kind of person that makes me besides a nauseous one.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:49 PM on March 28, 2011

Shortly after my initial reaction of "OMG MAGIC!", my second thought was "I bet that's Japanese-style mayonnaise rather than mustard." Kewpie FTW*!


* Except on pizza. Never on pizza.
posted by Diagonalize at 4:09 PM on March 28, 2011

Am I such a boring person that I can't even think of one?

Aaand....nooooowholdstillasec....you're Dirty Sanchez!
posted by obiwanwasabi at 5:17 PM on March 28, 2011

I was pretty sure that the 're-depositing' sequence was just the 'pickup' played in reverse. There seemed to be a few dodgy edits suggesting this.

Yeah, they're not even being put down in the same place, so no.
posted by ErWenn at 5:36 PM on March 28, 2011

Slide a burger under that, easy on the ketchup, slapped between two buns and I'll buy the burger.
posted by alicesshoe at 6:23 PM on March 28, 2011

I am not going to give an opinion on whether it's actually happening or not, but I do know that given a video clip of the device moving over an empty piece of glass, and an image of a condiment puddle, I could easily make it look like it was happening.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:34 PM on March 28, 2011

I swear that's how our dog's tongue worked.
posted by mazola at 9:40 PM on March 28, 2011

Have you ever looked at a goopy mess of ketchup and mustard and though, "I wish I could somehow pick this up with perfect precision and transfer it to some other surface?"

No.
posted by MajorDundee at 1:45 AM on March 29, 2011

I had a dream that I invented this very same machine. Batman tried to steal it from me, but I wouldn't let him. He chased me through the mall, but there were too many trees in the way for him. I proved him wrong when I jumped on the whale. I was going to make it big with this machine. But now I see he somehow got a hold of it in the end. I shouldn't have ever woken up to that alarm clock.
posted by TwelveTwo at 12:15 AM on March 31, 2011