Help! Why is it so difficult to open a stubborn screw-capped wine bottle?
— B.B., Potts Point, Sydney
Well, at least you managed to open the bottles. That's another problem with screw-caps: sometimes they're impossible to open at all – they just refuse to budge.
This situation usually results in me using a knife or the blade on a 'waiter's friend' corkscrew to cut through the line that's supposed to break when you unscrew the cap – and, sometimes, there's bloodshed.
Happily, it's not a common problem, but I have witnessed desperate people puncturing the cap with a spike to get at the precious liquid inside.
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