178

And on the box I learned that this is

“

Another Product from The Steak Joint in

Greenwich Village, New York City.

”

Were there other products? Yes, we know

steaks. But perhaps t-shirts, mugs, hats, and more. How about a Doggie Bag? In

Nation

‟

s Restaurant News Jane and Michael Stern wrote:

“

The doggie bag originally was conceived ... so customers could carry home food

without the embarrassment of feeling greedy. It was Dan Stampler of The Steak

Joint in Greenwich Village, New York, who first offered a thermal bag for

leftover steak. Stampler, who was known for serving big portions, emblazoned

the bag with a picture of his Scottish terrier, thus implying that those who left the

restaurant with a bag of food were kind-hearted animal lovers rather than

omnivorous steak gluttons.

”

We now had a name to go with the Steak Joint - Dan Stampler. So we went to the

United States Patent Office website and

searched

“

Dan Stampler.

”

Nothing. Then

we searched

“

Daniel Stampler

”

and there

it was - U. S. Patent Number 3,257,873

issued June 28, 1966. Daniel applied for

the patent on October 7, 1964 and do you

know who it was assigned to? Sure

enough - The Steak Joint Inc., New York,

N. Y., a Corporation of New York.

Regarding corkscrews in common use at

the time of his application, Stampler

writes

“

These spiral cork extractors are

disadvantageous because they are

difficult to handle for somebody not

strong enough to pull the cork from the

bottle when the cork is held by the spiral

of metal; and once they have performed

their function, they remain embedded in

the cork.

”

In describing the advantages of his prong puller, Stampler writes about the ease

of operation and adds

“

This obviates the added steps of screwing the cork

extractor into the cork and of unscrewing the cork extractor from the cork on the

cork has been removed. Further, the device of the instant invention saves the

cork from possible crumbling.

”