Braingle: 'Ketchup Sachet' Brain Teaser

Ketchup Sachet

Science brain teasers require understanding of the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it.

Puzzle ID:	#39364
Fun:	(2.88)
Difficulty:	(1.97)
Category:	Science
Submitted By:	King_of_Smart

A man picked up a plastic water bottle and filled it to the rim with water. He put a ketchup sachet in it and closed it up.

The man approached a woman and said, "If you can solve how this works, I'll give you a dollar."

The man said "down" and the sachet of ketchup suddenly went down. Then he said "up" and it went up. Then he said "down", and when it was halfway down, he said "stay" and it stayed.

How did he do this?

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Comments

snappytom Nov 25, 2007	Fun!
jsdodgers Nov 25, 2007	ive done the same thing just using a straw and paper clip. Good teaser though
lukeschett Nov 25, 2007	Is a sachet like a packet?
newbie885 Nov 26, 2007	that was very clever
onua9159 Nov 26, 2007	Very clever and cool trick. I didn't think hard enough to get it the first time I read it.
snipa Nov 26, 2007	reeal ez i guessed and got right
snipa Nov 26, 2007
snipa Nov 26, 2007	a sachet is like the things you rip and squeeze the ketchup lol
tick Nov 29, 2007	Very interesting, I will post again after I try this with my children, ages 5 & 12. Should be very fun for them, lol! Thanks!
rockstar1234567 Jan 29, 2008	you didn't even say how you add pressure
(user deleted) Mar 18, 2009	You add pressure by squeezing the plastic bottle. (Remember it is closed up tight so you can use pressure on it)
TableElbows Aug 19, 2009	I thought squeezing too
rob77 Mar 07, 2011	How about saying "up", then lifting the bottle, saying "down" and lowering it...the ketchup would go up and down
xdbtcp Mar 07, 2011	So...did she get the $1?
morlolet Mar 07, 2011	amazing!!!!!!!!!
math321 Mar 07, 2011	I was thinking that he moved the ketchup by tilting the bottle. Though in hindsight that wouldn't explain how he tried to astound the woman he bet a dollar with.