Aug 26, 2026 – 5.00amFor several centuries, mankind has devoted an extraordinary amount of human capital to one apparently simple task: getting a cork out of a wine bottle.There have been corkscrews, levers, springs, gears, blades, bell-shaped contraptions and devices that look as though they were designed by someone who has never actually seen a bottle of wine. The Screwpull, from the mind of American engineer Herbert Allen in 1979, made the process of extracting a cork absurdly effortless.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Mark HawthorneContributorMark Hawthorne is a former senior editor at The Age. Previously he was also national business editor of Fairfax Metro Media.Fetching latest articles