22

Lionel Street Activity

Down at 80 Lionel Street, Birmingham, England, Charles Thomas Willetts was

tinkering with corkscrew designs. Willetts said he was tired of opening his

drawer to fetch a corkscrew and getting pricked with the end of the worm. It

seems that most of the folding corkscrew designs at the time had the tip of the

worm exposed. When carried in a pocket, the worm can also get entangled in the

clothing.

Charles used a piece sheet metal to form a U-shape handle so that the tip of the

worm is protected when it is folded up for storage. He also included a crown cap

lifter on the neckstand. The sheet metal had ample space for advertising beer and

other products. Willetts was granted United Kingdom Patent Number 177,694

for his invention on March 18, 1921.