It is getting to that time of year when a spare corkscrew may come in handy but did you know they are a collectable item and some people have whole shelves full of the most intriguing shapes and sizes?

‘Corkscrews, invented around 1800, are an interesting collectable and can be relatively affordable (especially the more modern, 20th-century advertising types.

Bovril Corkscrew? Image eracorkscrews.com
There are two types of corkscrews: those where the power comes from the person operating the mechanism (known as a straight pull)

Vintage Brass Bruxelles boy Cherub Peeing Wine Bottle Corkscrew Souvenir. Image http://thumbs4.picclick.com/
and those with a mechanism that produces the power.

Antique and vintage corkscrews come in a wide variety of shapes (including novelty corkscrews that take on fun forms like animals or people),

and their handles are made from a range of materials, such as metal, bone, or wood.

Watch out for damage to the mechanism.’
So there you have it – a whole world of wacky ways to pull a cork from a bottle. Here’s one of my favourites:

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