Funny holidays - Corkscrew Day

On August 5th, the Day of the Straightened Corkscrew falls on the holiday calendar. It is celebrated annually by everyone who loves the taste of quality wine or sparkling champagne and knows how important it is to have a corkscrew at hand at the right time. This fun holiday can be a good reason to taste new varieties of wine, the taste of which you are not yet familiar with. The first patent for a corkscrew was issued in England in 1795. Later, in the nineteenth century, inventors in America received several hundred patents for corkscrews, varying in design and size. The archives preserved a document from 1861, in which the device was described as a steel screw designed to remove corks from bottles. People used to call a corkscrew a cork maker. In France, during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, soldiers had similar products that they used to remove bullets from guns. Currently, you can find more than 350 varieties of different corkscrew systems on sale. The Screwpull corkscrew model is considered the easiest to use. It was created by Herbert Allen. The principle of its operation is that when used, two handles protruding from the bottom cover the neck of the bottle. After pressing the lever, the screw is immersed in the plug. It is removed from the bottle as soon as the handle is returned to its original position. For plugs that fit very tightly to the neck, or are made of loose material, a special pneumatic corkscrew is provided. The opening of the bottle occurs after the needle located on the body pierces the cork through and pumps air into the vessel, which squeezes the cork out of the bottle. Now on sale there are modernized versions of pneumatic corkscrews, in which the pump is replaced with a small canister filled with air or carbon dioxide. Corkscrews often attract collectors who try to find the most interesting and unusual examples. The collectors' club first appeared in Milan in the mid-19th century. Nowadays, those wishing to purchase a rare model of corkscrew can be found in different countries. Suitable examples for collections can be found at Christie's auction, which is organized twice a year and offers corkscrews of various designs and shapes for sale. Some copies sell there for thousands of dollars. At one of the auctions, a unique ivory corkscrew was sold, which was a real work of art. A few years ago, a “corkscrew” complex made by craftsmen of the 18th century was also presented at the auction, which included a corkscrew with wings and protective sockets, a stand and a box for storing it. It cost about 50 thousand dollars.