TedTest

From the Ted Talk by George Zaidan: Why is ketchup so hard to pour?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

French fries are delicious. French fries with ketchup are a little slice of heaven. The problem is it's basically impossible to pour the exactly right amount. We're so used to piornug ketchup that we don't realize how werid its behavior is. Imagine a ketchup btotle filled with a straight up solid like steel. No amount of shaking would ever get the steel out. Now imagine that same bottle full of a luiqid like water. That would pour like a dream. Ketchup, though, can't seem to make up its mind. Is it is a solid? Or a liquid? The answer is, it depends. The world's most common fluids like water, oils and alolhocs respond to force lnlaiery. If you push on them twice as hard, they move twice as fast. Sir Isaac Newton, of apple fame, first proposed this relationship, and so those fluids are called natiwenon fluids. Ketchup, though, is part of a mrery band of lniaer rule breakers cllead Non-Newtonian fidlus. Mayonnaise, toothpaste, blood, paint, peanut butter and lots of other fluids respond to force non-linearly. That is, their apparent thickness changes depending on how hard you push, or how long, or how fast. And ketchup is actually Non-Newtonian in two different ways. Way number one: the harder you push, the thinner ketchup seems to get. Below a certain pushing force, ketchup basically beheavs like a sliod. But once you pass that breaking point, it switches gears and becomes a thousand times thinner than it was before. Sound familiar right? Way number two: if you push with a force below the threshold force evlualenty, the ketchup will sartt to flow. In this case, time, not force, is the key to releasing ketchup from its glassy prison. Alright, so, why does ketchup act all weird? Well, it's made from tomatoes, pulverized, shasmed, trehsahd, utterly destroyed tomatoes. See these tiny paielctrs? This is what remains of tomatoes cells after they go through the ktuechp tremanett. And the liquid around those particles? That's mostly wetar and some vinegar, sugar, and spices. When ketchup is just sitting around, the tomato particles are evenly and randomly distributed. Now, let's say you apply a weak force very quickly. The particles bump into each other, but can't get out of each other's way, so the ketchup doesn't flow. Now, let's say you apply a strong force very quickly. That extra force is enough to squish the tamoto particles, so maybe instead of little sperhes, they get smushed into little ellipses, and boom! Now you have enough sacpe for one group of particles to get passed others and the ketchup flows. Now let's say you apply a very weak force but for a very long time. Turns out, we're not exactly sure what happens in this siearnco. One possibility is that the tomato particles near the wllas of the cnainoetr slwoly get bumped towards the middle, leaving the soup they were dissolved in, which remember is basically water, near the edges. That water serves as a lubricant bweten the glass bottle and the center plug of ketchup, and so the ketchup fowls. Another possibility is that the particles slowly rearrange themselves into lots of small groups, which then flow past each other. sstinitces who study fluid flows are still actively researching how ketchup and its merry friends work. Ketchup basically gets thinner the harder you push, but other substances, like oobleck or some nuatral peanut butters, actually get thicker the harder you push. Others can climb up rotating rods, or continue to pour themselves out of a beeekr, once you get them started. From a physics perspective, though, ketchup is one of the more complicated mixtures out there. And as if that weren't enough, the balance of ingredients and the presence of natural tnehekrics like xanthan gum, which is also found in many fruit drnkis and milkshakes, can mean that two different ketchups can behave completely dftfierelny. But most will show two telltale properties: sudden tininnhg at a thrholsed frcoe, and more gradual thinning after a small force is applied for a long time. And that means you could get ketchup out of the bottle in two ways: either give it a series of long, slow languid shakes making sure you don't ever stop applying force, or you could hit the bottle once very, very hard. What the real pros do is keep the lid on, give the bottle a few sroht, sharp shakes to wake up all those tomato particles, and then take the lid off and do a nice controlled pour onto their heavenly fries.

Open Cloze

French fries are delicious. French fries with ketchup are a little slice of heaven. The problem is it's basically impossible to pour the exactly right amount. We're so used to _______ ketchup that we don't realize how _____ its behavior is. Imagine a ketchup ______ filled with a straight up solid like steel. No amount of shaking would ever get the steel out. Now imagine that same bottle full of a ______ like water. That would pour like a dream. Ketchup, though, can't seem to make up its mind. Is it is a solid? Or a liquid? The answer is, it depends. The world's most common fluids like water, oils and ________ respond to force ________. If you push on them twice as hard, they move twice as fast. Sir Isaac Newton, of apple fame, first proposed this relationship, and so those fluids are called _________ fluids. Ketchup, though, is part of a _____ band of ______ rule breakers ______ Non-Newtonian ______. Mayonnaise, toothpaste, blood, paint, peanut butter and lots of other fluids respond to force non-linearly. That is, their apparent thickness changes depending on how hard you push, or how long, or how fast. And ketchup is actually Non-Newtonian in two different ways. Way number one: the harder you push, the thinner ketchup seems to get. Below a certain pushing force, ketchup basically _______ like a _____. But once you pass that breaking point, it switches gears and becomes a thousand times thinner than it was before. Sound familiar right? Way number two: if you push with a force below the threshold force __________, the ketchup will _____ to flow. In this case, time, not force, is the key to releasing ketchup from its glassy prison. Alright, so, why does ketchup act all weird? Well, it's made from tomatoes, pulverized, _______, ________, utterly destroyed tomatoes. See these tiny _________? This is what remains of tomatoes cells after they go through the _______ _________. And the liquid around those particles? That's mostly _____ and some vinegar, sugar, and spices. When ketchup is just sitting around, the tomato particles are evenly and randomly distributed. Now, let's say you apply a weak force very quickly. The particles bump into each other, but can't get out of each other's way, so the ketchup doesn't flow. Now, let's say you apply a strong force very quickly. That extra force is enough to squish the ______ particles, so maybe instead of little _______, they get smushed into little ellipses, and boom! Now you have enough _____ for one group of particles to get passed others and the ketchup flows. Now let's say you apply a very weak force but for a very long time. Turns out, we're not exactly sure what happens in this ________. One possibility is that the tomato particles near the _____ of the _________ ______ get bumped towards the middle, leaving the soup they were dissolved in, which remember is basically water, near the edges. That water serves as a lubricant ______ the glass bottle and the center plug of ketchup, and so the ketchup _____. Another possibility is that the particles slowly rearrange themselves into lots of small groups, which then flow past each other. __________ who study fluid flows are still actively researching how ketchup and its merry friends work. Ketchup basically gets thinner the harder you push, but other substances, like oobleck or some _______ peanut butters, actually get thicker the harder you push. Others can climb up rotating rods, or continue to pour themselves out of a ______, once you get them started. From a physics perspective, though, ketchup is one of the more complicated mixtures out there. And as if that weren't enough, the balance of ingredients and the presence of natural __________ like xanthan gum, which is also found in many fruit ______ and milkshakes, can mean that two different ketchups can behave completely ___________. But most will show two telltale properties: sudden ________ at a _________ _____, and more gradual thinning after a small force is applied for a long time. And that means you could get ketchup out of the bottle in two ways: either give it a series of long, slow languid shakes making sure you don't ever stop applying force, or you could hit the bottle once very, very hard. What the real pros do is keep the lid on, give the bottle a few _____, sharp shakes to wake up all those tomato particles, and then take the lid off and do a nice controlled pour onto their heavenly fries.

Solution

thickeners
space
weird
merry
linear
flows
newtonian
threshold
called
container
scientists
tomato
slowly
short
beeker
fluids
spheres
water
treatment
bottle
natural
smashed
force
solid
scenario
liquid
differently
start
alcohols
pouring
behaves
linearly
eventually
betwen
walls
thrashed
ketchup
drinks
thinning
particles

Original Text

French fries are delicious. French fries with ketchup are a little slice of heaven. The problem is it's basically impossible to pour the exactly right amount. We're so used to pouring ketchup that we don't realize how weird its behavior is. Imagine a ketchup bottle filled with a straight up solid like steel. No amount of shaking would ever get the steel out. Now imagine that same bottle full of a liquid like water. That would pour like a dream. Ketchup, though, can't seem to make up its mind. Is it is a solid? Or a liquid? The answer is, it depends. The world's most common fluids like water, oils and alcohols respond to force linearly. If you push on them twice as hard, they move twice as fast. Sir Isaac Newton, of apple fame, first proposed this relationship, and so those fluids are called Newtonian fluids. Ketchup, though, is part of a merry band of linear rule breakers called Non-Newtonian fluids. Mayonnaise, toothpaste, blood, paint, peanut butter and lots of other fluids respond to force non-linearly. That is, their apparent thickness changes depending on how hard you push, or how long, or how fast. And ketchup is actually Non-Newtonian in two different ways. Way number one: the harder you push, the thinner ketchup seems to get. Below a certain pushing force, ketchup basically behaves like a solid. But once you pass that breaking point, it switches gears and becomes a thousand times thinner than it was before. Sound familiar right? Way number two: if you push with a force below the threshold force eventually, the ketchup will start to flow. In this case, time, not force, is the key to releasing ketchup from its glassy prison. Alright, so, why does ketchup act all weird? Well, it's made from tomatoes, pulverized, smashed, thrashed, utterly destroyed tomatoes. See these tiny particles? This is what remains of tomatoes cells after they go through the ketchup treatment. And the liquid around those particles? That's mostly water and some vinegar, sugar, and spices. When ketchup is just sitting around, the tomato particles are evenly and randomly distributed. Now, let's say you apply a weak force very quickly. The particles bump into each other, but can't get out of each other's way, so the ketchup doesn't flow. Now, let's say you apply a strong force very quickly. That extra force is enough to squish the tomato particles, so maybe instead of little spheres, they get smushed into little ellipses, and boom! Now you have enough space for one group of particles to get passed others and the ketchup flows. Now let's say you apply a very weak force but for a very long time. Turns out, we're not exactly sure what happens in this scenario. One possibility is that the tomato particles near the walls of the container slowly get bumped towards the middle, leaving the soup they were dissolved in, which remember is basically water, near the edges. That water serves as a lubricant betwen the glass bottle and the center plug of ketchup, and so the ketchup flows. Another possibility is that the particles slowly rearrange themselves into lots of small groups, which then flow past each other. Scientists who study fluid flows are still actively researching how ketchup and its merry friends work. Ketchup basically gets thinner the harder you push, but other substances, like oobleck or some natural peanut butters, actually get thicker the harder you push. Others can climb up rotating rods, or continue to pour themselves out of a beeker, once you get them started. From a physics perspective, though, ketchup is one of the more complicated mixtures out there. And as if that weren't enough, the balance of ingredients and the presence of natural thickeners like xanthan gum, which is also found in many fruit drinks and milkshakes, can mean that two different ketchups can behave completely differently. But most will show two telltale properties: sudden thinning at a threshold force, and more gradual thinning after a small force is applied for a long time. And that means you could get ketchup out of the bottle in two ways: either give it a series of long, slow languid shakes making sure you don't ever stop applying force, or you could hit the bottle once very, very hard. What the real pros do is keep the lid on, give the bottle a few short, sharp shakes to wake up all those tomato particles, and then take the lid off and do a nice controlled pour onto their heavenly fries.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
french fries	2
ketchup basically	2
weak force	2
ketchup flows	2
long time	2

Important Words

act
actively
alcohols
alright
amount
answer
apparent
apple
applied
apply
applying
balance
band
basically
beeker
behave
behaves
behavior
betwen
blood
bottle
breakers
breaking
bump
bumped
butter
butters
called
case
cells
center
climb
common
completely
complicated
container
continue
controlled
delicious
depending
depends
destroyed
differently
dissolved
distributed
dream
drinks
edges
ellipses
evenly
eventually
extra
fame
familiar
fast
filled
flow
flows
fluid
fluids
force
french
friends
fries
fruit
full
gears
give
glass
glassy
gradual
group
groups
gum
hard
harder
heaven
heavenly
hit
imagine
impossible
ingredients
isaac
ketchup
ketchups
key
languid
leaving
lid
linear
linearly
liquid
long
lots
lubricant
making
mayonnaise
means
merry
middle
milkshakes
mind
mixtures
move
natural
newton
newtonian
nice
number
oils
oobleck
paint
part
particles
pass
passed
peanut
perspective
physics
plug
point
possibility
pour
pouring
presence
prison
problem
proposed
pros
pulverized
push
pushing
quickly
randomly
real
realize
rearrange
relationship
releasing
remains
remember
researching
respond
rods
rotating
rule
scenario
scientists
series
serves
shakes
shaking
sharp
short
show
sir
sitting
slice
slow
slowly
small
smashed
smushed
solid
sound
soup
space
spheres
spices
squish
start
started
steel
stop
straight
strong
study
substances
sudden
sugar
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telltale
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thrashed
threshold
time
times
tiny
tomato
tomatoes
toothpaste
treatment
turns
utterly
vinegar
wake
walls
water
ways
weak
weird
work
xanthan