The first corkscrew patent went to a clergyman
The first patent for a corkscrew was granted in England in 1795 to the Reverend Samuel Henshall. His design added a small disc between the shank and the worm, which stopped the screw going too deep and helped twist the cork free of the glass. More than two centuries later, the same spiral worm folds into the cherry red handle of this Pakistan pocket knife, beside a 10.5 cm stainless blade.
