Scientists have created a super-slippery material based on a carnivorous plant that, among many applications, could make it easier to get sauce out of ketchup bottles.
The researchers behind the substance were inspired by the Nepenthes pitcher plants, which has a highly slippery surface at the top of its flute-shaped leaves so that insects tumble down into the digestive juices contained inside.
 They found that the plant's leaves have a sponge-like texture that are infused with water, which prevent the oils produced on insects’ feet from sticking..
 

The scientists copied the plant by immobilising a “lubricating film” inside the pores of a sponge-like layer of Teflon to produce a smooth and highly slippery surface.
 

They hope it could not result in self-cleaning coating that can be put on anything from car windscreens, inside oil pipes and on aircraft wings to prevent icing.
 

The material has chemical properties that allow it to repel both oil and water based liquids, meaning they slide off without leaving any residue.