Engineering students at Johns Hopkins University solved the universal problem of burrito malfunction. You know, that big problem when your tasty burrito begins to unravel, spilling your meal all over the place. Their invention, called Tastee Tape, is an edible adhesive for burrito healing. Just get a strip wet and apply it to your troublesome meal. It holds together during baking and consumption, so there’s endless applications. The students are filing for a patent and considering adding flavor options. Tastee Tape is clear, but dyed blue for demonstration purposes.
The research poster includes some details about price and profit margins, but the recipe remains secret. The engineers shared only that the edible burrito tape is made of common food additives and completely safe to eat. The discovery even made the local news. The video below includes a round table with the four engineering students involved, all of whom are women.
This project was part of a student showcase. Hundreds of engineers tackled projects like optimizing Major League Baseball’s schedule or beating the world record time of traveling the entire NYC subway system. Community organizations also pitched some problems to team members, like the Maryland Zoo wanting to provide new enrichment items to their elephants.
There are also dozens of health-related projects. Tests, sensors, and database management are all in need of solutions from biomedical engineers. But for now it’s this burrito tape, which we found via Gizmodo, that is making headlines.
Other recent burrito tech we’ve covered includes drone delivery and a 2,000 calorie pasta version. Next up, I’m hoping scientists can attack the stratification issue. Why is there a layer of meat, then all onions, then the cheese? What’s a girl got to do to get a homogenous burrito? Get on it, science.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. As children, Melissa and her brother used to cry when their burritos fell apart. Melissa also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
