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Bottle Design Brain Melter: The Handle is the Spout, the Opening is on the Bottom, the Inside and the Outside Are the Same Surface

By Rain Noe - June 21, 2013

in Object Culture

That there is the Klein Bottle, first conceived of in 1882 by German mathematician Felix Klein. Klein's "non-orientable surface," as it's called in the math community, is like a Möbius strip in that you cannot distinguish inside from outside; follow it with your eyes and you'll see one turns into the other, which makes me very, very uncomfortable.

I'm told that the Klein Bottle is, in essence, two Möbius strips connected together. I'd like to start sketching that to work out how it goes together, but I can't because I'm too stupid.

Scientists have not yet figured out how the Klein Bottle will enable the design of time machines, but it seems obvious that it will be a crucial component and that scientists are simply lazy. In the meantime, you can purchase a Klein Bottle for yourself. Astronomer and famous hacker hunter Clifford Stoll's company, Acme Klein Bottle makes them, including this wine bottle that moves the spout up to the top:

I love Stoll's brutally honest product description:

The chimerical Wine Bottle Klein Bottle is now reality! As impractical as it is elegant.

The Wine Bottle Klein Bottle is difficult to fill with wine, because of vapor-lock. As you pour water (or wine) into it, there's no place for the air to go. So the wine is trying to go down while the air is trying to go up the spout. Result is slow filling. Pouring wine out is equally frustrating.

...Not only are these difficult to fill and empty, but cleaning them is a real challenge. Since there's little air circulation within the Klein Bottle, moisture doesn't evaporate. Worse, you can't reach in with a towel. So you'll need to dry the interior surface using alcohol. I've had good luck with a pair of small magnets wrapped in cotton cloth.

I've designed these to balance with or without contents. However, they're easy to tip over, especially when empty.

Again, these are about the most impractical Wine Bottle / Caraffes ever made. But what's life with only utility and efficacy? Living without spontaneity, risk and danger? Besides, what else costs under 100 clams?

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Michael

10 years ago

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It's a Mobius DRIP! (well, except that, reportedly, it doesn't actually drip)
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Bill

11 years ago

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Its not a true Klein bottle, because by definition, the bottle is not allowed to penetrate itself. You can create a true Klein bottle mathematically, and by using computer graphics,but it is physically impossible to make a piece of hardware which is a true Klein bottle.
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Janis

11 years ago

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Compressed air is great, but if you don't want to spring for one, just hook your vacuum cleaner hose to its outlet. ( Works for leaves, wet hair, stubborn pc dust....)

Since these are so easy to clean, how about a sippy cup?

+1 on the saucer!
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Joe Kuhns

11 years ago

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You should check out Clifford Stoll on TED!

http://www.ted.com/talks/clifford_stoll_on_everything.html

Also I have had a klein bottle for a few years now, I put water in when I got it, and not a single bit has evaporated. Not sure what I am going to do when I actually want to get the water out, but for now, it is great.
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Product tank

11 years ago

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The images with the coloured liquids are beautiful, but will all the impracticality already mentioned as soon as you'd poured one, it would leave a terrible ring of liquid on what ever surface you placed it on. Each one needs to be supplied with a saucer ;-)
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Mark Nowotarski

11 years ago

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What you need is a nice little hose attached to a compressed air source. Blow it right out.
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Ross

11 years ago

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Have you seen the Klein-bottle-shaped bottle-opener on Shapeways? I think its pretty cool, but 78$ is too much for a math-pun bottle opener. I hope they can find a way to mass produce the shape.

http://www.shapeways.com/model/321931/klein-bottle-opener.html
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54

11 years ago

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It's beautiful, but hate to have to fidgeting this around just to pour the darn thing out. I am destine to break this, or lave some ugly finger print all around it. :-)
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bob

11 years ago

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wanna twist your brain? check out visualizations of high dimensional 'forms' like calabi yau manifold
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Gabriel

11 years ago

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Bathsheba Grossman does some really fantastic stuff with these concepts. She's got a Klein bottle opener for sale over on Shapeways. http://shpws.me/llHv. More about her http://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/2075-Designer-Spotlight-Bathsheba-Grossman.html. Impressive stuff.
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