On this day in 1860 the corkscrew was patented in the United States. Which makes one wonder—what were they using to open bottles of wine beforehand? We’re they pushing the cork down into the bottle? Whacking the neck off with a sword? I’ve done both of those and they leave something to be desired. The fact is, a rudimentary form of a corkscrew was patented in England in 1795, and before then corks were fairly rare because glass-makers had yet to perfect wine bottles. So corkscrews weren’t needed until then. So now you know.
