1883

Year that the flat, lever-type waiters’ corkscrew was invented in Germany by Carl Wienke, a civil engineer. Its convenient, fold-up design and concealed knife has made it an artifact of virtually every restaurant in the world. Although dozens of shapes and styles of corkscrew have been invented since, the waiters’ corkscrew remains the most popular type. The best waiters’ corkscrews have a long, “helical” worm coated with a non-stick Teflon-like material and a double flange, helpful when the cork is long.