Heinz reveals the secret way to get ketchup out of a bottle
Technically Incorrect: The company says only 11 percent of people know this secret.
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
The secret is right there. Can you see it?
There comes a point when Pokemon and politics just become too much.
I wanted to think about something away from all that.
So my mind drifted to a couple of nights ago when I was struggling with a Heinz ketchup bottle.
I know you've enjoyed the same struggle at least once in your life.
You've turned the bottle upside down. Your rudimentary scientific knowledge tells you the ketchup should just roll on out. And it doesn't.
That's because ketchup -- like molasses or toothpaste -- is a non-Newtonian fluid. It doesn't behave like a normal liquid.
Because you are human, you begin to get annoyed very quickly. You shake the bottle more vigorously.
Sometimes, you shake it so vigorously that it bangs down hard on your plate and smashes it.
So is there a reliable secret to getting the ketchup out without rancor?
There are plenty of YouTube videos that offer you tips. However, the Mirror on Monday happened upon a snippet on Heinz's own website that made me reassess the meaning of existence.
On the site's trivia page, Heinz has a tiny section called: What's the best way to get Heinz ketchup out of the iconic glass bottle?
The answer sounds so startlingly simple: "To release ketchup faster from the glass bottle, apply a firm tap to the sweet spot on the neck of the bottle -- the '57.'"
I confess I hadn't even paid enough attention to notice that there was an embossed "57" on the neck.
It would, though, have never crossed my mind that this was the place to tap the bottle.
It may not have crossed many minds, as Heinz says only 11 percent of people know this trick. I asked the company how it knows about that 11 percent, but Heinz didn't immediately reply.
I encourage you, therefore, to try this experiment with your loved ones. You might become a true hero to many if you solve one of life's seemingly intractable problems.
Sometimes, little things can serve as a spring to your day and an incentive to understand the science that's behind them.
This may be one of those things. It may not, of course.