That is so funny I just responded to someone else about this. Perhaps, although I find funnels unreliable. If you don't commit, even with a funnel, the greasy stuff slips down the side of the bowl you are pouring from, and makes the very same mess. AND, you have one more dish to wash. Why make more work for yourself, when you can use a little elementary mechanics, hold the bowl high enough that the narrow part of the stream is plenty small to fit through the opening, and take pleasure in the ease and beauty of the flow? Use physics to your advantage! I still do this. It's easier with thicker liquids. Milk, for instance, will slosh out the other side of the vessel you're pouring into. The speed at which you pour matters!
No need to teach a child physics if you teach them to always think about how to make fewer dirty dishes and to keep their work space very clean instead.
Hmm, I'll take your word for it since you're the expert and my maths skills, other than mental arithmetic, are for the birds.
About kids and learning, I agree entirely. All subjects from english to physics could easily be learned by allowing a child to explore his surroundings rather than forcing him to sit behind a desk. But perhaps producing bright, imaginative children is not the agenda.