It's a problem that almost everyone faces at least once in their lives. They have a bottle of wine, but no corkscrew to open it. Fortunately if you have a shoe, you may be in luck.
In fact, one man from Mirabeau Wine demonstrates the technique in the video below, courtesy of YouTube. According to him, all it takes is a dress shoe, a bottle of wine and the hard surface of a wall. With several swift strikes, he coaxes the cork out of the bottle.
Yet how exactly does the technique work and why does it work? That's a good question. NPR talked to James Wallace, an engineer at the University of Maryland who studies fluid dynamics. He said that "It's actually quite simple. When you hit the bottle against the shoe, the impact of the [shoe against the] wall provide a more or less constant force to the bottle, which is then transmitted to the liquid. When a liquid is confined, like the wine in the bottle, it can't flow. So the wine is going to act very much like a solid."
The technique, though, looks easier than it is. If you want to use it, you should probably refine and test it out a few times before displaying it for party guests, according to MNN. You'll probably want to test it out on a cheap bottle of wine before actually using a good bottle, too (for the sake of the wine--if nothing else). That said, the method does indeed work--so don't bother going out to buy a corkscrew. Instead, just look for a hard wall and use your shoe. Assuming you've had a bit of practice, it's just as effective.
Want to learn the technique for yourself? Check out the video below.
