Q: Although the 鈥渨idgets鈥� used to produce a drink similar to draught beer in cans are relatively new, the word itself has existed for some time. Can anyone provide a proper definition and, above all, the etymology? And, more importantly, how does the beer device work?
A: The way the device works to give a creamy head is well described in the patent literature. In 1984, Alan Forage, the Product Development Director at Guinness, and William Byrne came up with a system to imitate the surge of bubbles created by tiny holes in the tap used to pour normal draught Guinness. British patent application 2183592A published in 1987 describes the system as consisting of a container filled with gas at the bottom of the can. When the ring pull comes off, pressure forces the gas through a tiny hole in the container, recreating the characteristic surge. Many other widgets have since been developed.
One of the more recent developments is the widget in a bottle detailed in patents GB2280886 and 2280887 filed jointly by Whitbread and Heineken. This widget is a hollow plastic insert which is squeezed in through the neck of the bottle and floats on the beer surface. It has a hole or valve on its top and a one-way valve on its underside. As the bottle is sealed pressure inside is increased and gas enters the widget through the top hole or valve, increasing the widget鈥檚 internal pressure. On opening the bottle and releasing its pressure, gas from the widget jets into the beer from the underside hole giving it a creamy texture.
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A: A widget is a device used to introduce nitrogen into canned beer to produce a firm head similar to draught beer. In some widgets the nitrogen is stored under high pressure inside a plastic casing and in others the nitrogen is absorbed onto the surface of a folded sheet of polymer. The nitrogen is released into the beer when the can pressure drops after opening. The drink must be poured immediately to prevent the nitrogen escaping completely as it is not very soluble in beer. The escaping nitrogen enables the formation of fine bubbles resulting in an extremely stable head on which it is possible to sign your name with a fountain pen.
A: The word widget is undoubtedly derived from the word gadget. It was probably invented by George Kaufman and Marc Connelly as it is first used in their 1924 play Beggar on Horseback, where it is a description of what a 鈥渂ig business鈥� is in the business of making. Of course what a widget is never revealed.
(Father-in-law): Yes, sir! Big business!
鈥� Yes. Big business. What business are we in?
鈥� Widgets. We鈥檙e in the widget business.
鈥� The widget business?
鈥� Yes, sir! I suppose I鈥檓 the biggest manufacturer in the world of overhead and underground aerial widgets.
(This information is drawn from the list of Frequently Asked Questions for the Usenet newsgroup alt.usage.english, and is credited in that list to William C. Waterhouse.)
A: Although the term widget has been adopted by the brewers to name their gas injection device, its original use was an American equivalent of the English 鈥済adget鈥�.
In the 1930s Rube Goldberg, an American counterpart of our Heath Robinson, used to draw complicated bits of impractical apparatus in the American 鈥渇unny papers鈥�. These used to have strings running over pulleys to pull levers, funnels filled by dripping water, candles that burnt through strings allowing weights to drop, and similar arrangements. The diagrams were liberally labelled, and bits that had no accepted description were often labelled 鈥済ismo鈥�, 鈥渄ingus鈥� and 鈥渨idget鈥�. Other terms were 鈥済ewgaw鈥� and 鈥済immick鈥�, all widely used in the US.
A: Widgets are very interesting because of their great diversity. My natural curiosity has revealed some eight different varieties, and I have just added another, in a glass bottle, to my collection.
Historically, visitors to the Emerald Isle used to buy a well-known stout which was flat when poured. A special syringe device, more of a proto-widget came free with every four pack and it allowed the discerning drinker to activate the purchase by sucking a little beer into the syringe and then expel it into the product, which instantly transformed itself into the famous creamy headed drink.