• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Firsts / How Were Corks Uncorked Before the Corkscrew Was Invented?

How Were Corks Uncorked Before the Corkscrew Was Invented?

May 5, 2020 by Karen Hill

Corks were used occasionally by the ancient Romans to stop up wine containers, and were common jar and bottle stoppers by the early 1600s.

We don’t know who invented the corkscrew, but we do know that it didn’t appear much before the year 1700. Then how did people before that get the corks out of their bottles?

The answer is that they didn’t need corkscrews to remove corks, they used their hands. Corks were used mostly to keep dust and dirt out of containers, and not to make them airtight, as they are used today.

Stoppers were set very loosely in most bottles; the thinner end of the cork was pushed into the bottleneck, and the thicker end was used as a grip for the person opening the bottle. Corks weren’t pushed tightly into bottlenecks until the invention of the corkscrew, probably by wine or ale makers, making it possible to remove such corks.

The cork oak tree from which corks are made lives from 300 to 400 years, but never grows more than 50 feet tall!

Related Facts

  • Why Do Some Wine Bottles Have Corks Made of Plastic?
  • Who invented Champagne and How do they get the cork into a bottle of Champagne?
  • What Is the Best Way To Store Wine and Why Is It Better To Store Wine Bottles Horizontally Than Vertically?
  • Why are Champagne Corks bigger than Wine Corks and have a weird Mushroom Shape?
  • What Is the Best Way To Open a Bottle of Champagne Without Hitting the Ceiling With the Cork?
  • What does the phrase “to sit like a Stoughton bottle” mean and Where does it come from?

Filed Under: Firsts

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « When Was Scotch Tape Invented?
Next Post: Who Invented the Zipper? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy