100

Numerous designs for corn holders were patented. Here are examples of but a few

more:

Franklin Dixon's U. S. Patent No. 187,363 was issued

February 13, 1877 for

―

Table Forks for Green-Corn,

&c.

‖

His fork is for holding an ear of hot cooked

Indian

corn. Dixon suggested various handle

materials including ivory, bone, horn, gutta-percha,

and wood.

On March 12, 1878 U. S. Patent No. 201,230 was

issued to John De Yongh for his

―

Implement for

Holding Hot Corn.

‖

In this design the center spear

penetrates the cob and the short prongs keep it from turning.

Mary Donnelly designed a

―

Corn-Fork

‖

in 1896. If the prongs on her

pacifier handle tool could easily penetrate a cork without pushing it in

the bottle and one could twist the handle, and by continuous twisting

and easing upward, it could very well pull a cork in the fashion of

Brady's U-Neek (see below). The major difference is that Brady's

prongs are pushed in one at a time and at an angle. Donnelly was granted U. S. Design

Patent No. 26,777 on March 16, 1897.

Arlene Lenaghan offered a new design

incorporating the

―

pacifier

‖

type handle with a

corkscrew-like protrusion. She was granted U. S.

Design Patent No. 274,207 on June 12, 1984 for

her

―

Corn Cob Holder

‖

.

Could this be a version of Arlene

Lenaghan's patent for a

―

Corn

Cob Holder

‖

? It has the

―

pacifier

‖

as the sheath and in

this case, a bottle cap lifter is

used as the handle. The worm is

like the worm in her drawing.

The opener would lead one to

believe it was designed as a bar

tool - opener, corkscrew, and

muddler but it certainly would

fill Arlene's need for a corn cob

holder.