How US Ketchup Packets Could Learn a Thing or Two from Australia's

Throughout the years, many advances in technology have made life easier. Look at everything you can accomplish from that device in your hand that used to only make phone calls? A tag on our windshield allows us to breeze through toll lanes. You can now completely shop during the holidays without leaving your house and braving the masses.

Yet despite all of this, there are a few things that simply have not changed. For one, the way we dispense our ketchup with takeout meals now is the exact same from when I was a kid. You search at the bottom of the bag, hoping the person that prepared your order left a few packets in there. Once you find the packets, the struggle is far from over. You try to find the best method of opening the ketchup packet so you can maximize what you get out of it without creating a large mess. More than likely one packet will not be enough, so you’re left repeating these steps until your food is practically cold.

Ok, so maybe dispensing the ketchup won’t take that long but admit it: it isn’t a fun process. Why haven’t they invented a easier way to get your condiment fix on the go?

Apparently in Australia, they have.

Adam McDowell uploaded a video of him opening a ketchup packet down-under in 2009. For some reason the clip is now going viral, gaining over 175,000 hits in the past few days.

McDowell sits on the beach as he opens the packet of what Australians call “tomato sauce.” The package is divided in to two sections. You simply bend the packet in half and squeeze the sections together. Just like that, you’re ketchup is ready for consumption, minus the mess.

The person that posted the video was visiting Australia from Toronto, Canada. Some Australians on YouTube are quick to correct people that they call ketchup “tomato sauce.” Others can’t believe that these packets aren’t readily available outside of Australia. But at least one person throws the U.S. a bone.

“hey've (sic) had those in lunchables in America for as far back as I can remember,” wrote user jenifaui. “It is a brilliant idea, though.”

And now, we’re hungry.