4 ms·

Once you reach a certain level of wealth that is not uncommon in developed countries, owning physical stuff is a burden. Not only corkscrews: furniture, applian

Once you reach a certain level of wealth that is not uncommon in developed countries, owning physical stuff is a burden. Not only corkscrews: furniture, appliances, a car, a house. You get regular reminders of this when you've spent your entire adult life moving from tiny apartment to tiny apartment in European city centers. Unless I'm intimate with someone's present, pressing needs, the only gift I'll dare to buy another adult will be food, drinks, or experiences. If you need a corkscrew, the only one you'll ever need is a double-stepped waiters corkscrew (I own a Creuset [0] which is fine but there's plenty of cheaper alternatives). They're small, last forever and work for every tight or crumbling cork you might have to deal with. I guess that if you buy very expensive wines and like to drink alone, you may find some use in a fancy contraption I've seen used in Burgundy this summer which allows you to pour wine while keeping the cork in the bottle [1]. It is expensive, high maintenance and fiddly. Everything in between, I really don't see the point. [0] https://www.lecreuset.fr/fr_FR/p/wt-110-sommelier-double-levier-en-bois/WA491310a.html https://www.lecreuset.fr/fr_FR/p/wt-110-sommelier-double-lev... [1] https://www.coravin.fr/ https://www.coravin.fr/

throwaway55421 5y ago
Eh? I don't agree with this at all. If you have a "certain level of wealth", why would you move from tiny apartment to tiny apartment? You have no need to sell your previous one, or just no need to move. Also, why are they tiny? It sounds like you're talking about being nomadic on a middle to high income. Most wealthy people I know own big houses in places like Kensington or Hampstead or whatever the equivalent is. They might also have a pied a terre or three, sure, but they're not constantly moving.
- lostmsu 5y ago
  I think the point was that moving from tiny apartment to tiny apartment happened before he became wealthy, so he compares now, where he has to maintain all that stuff (car, house, furniture in all rooms, yard) vs before when he had maybe a sofa, a desk, and a laptop.
- rodelrod 5y ago
  Moving a lot served me as a recurring reminder of the burden of stuff, but it's not the only way that it materializes. Stuff takes space, stuff adds clutter, some stuff requires administrative overhead, most stuff requires maintenance. I prefer tiny apartments in central neighbourhoods than bigger ones in the suburbs. Stuff enters into that equation. I can't afford a big house in Kensington. So OK, if I could afford a big house in Kensington plus a couple of pied-à-terre, maybe I wouldn't worry so much about stuff. I could have an extra room for a corkscrew collection and hired hands to deal with it. Stuff staff. I added the "certain level of wealth" qualifier to make it clear that I didn't mean to claim that being burdened by stuff is a universal experience. It's a problem tied to abundance, like obesity and information overload. This level of wealth is much lower than what most people would consider "wealthy".
lostmsu 5y ago
I had an ingeniously evil thought in that regard, that if you don't like somebody, and you have money to spend, you could anonymously buy a few items of low-quality on Amazon to the person's address and name as gifts. Most people, even relatively well-off ones will keep free stuff. And will be in pain either because they will actually continue using it, and get annoyed by its low quality, or stop using it, but leave it around as junk because of the instinct to hoard.
bikingbismuth 5y ago
I have a Coravin, and I have found it to be pretty low maintenance (other than having to buy replacement argon canisters). I bought it when my wife was pregnant and have continued to use it with white wines (I’m the only one who drinks white in my social group).
- rodelrod 5y ago
  Nice to hear about your experience, sounds like a good use case. I briefly considered it to allow better food pairings in small dinners. The marginal benefit wouldn't justify the cost of ownership for me, though.
leephillips 5y ago
I’m with you on the waiter’s friend. No need for any weird contraptions there.
antiterra 5y ago
> the only one you'll ever need is a double-stepped waiters corkscrew > Everything in between, I really don't see the point. The point is some people have things like arthritis or other challenges that benefit from greater mechanical advantage.
- rodelrod 5y ago
  That would be a good reason. None of the many people I've seen getting these for Christmas over the years had arthritis. What they did all have was a friend or relative with a social obligation to buy some crap for them and a zillion other people in a crowded mall on the 24th afternoon.
  - kentonv 5y ago
    Well, the reason Oxo has been so successful is that it turns out that if you make things easier to hold and use, it is not only better for people with arthritis, but it turns out almost everyone else likes it better too. You may not need it, but why would you not prefer an easier grip, all else being equal? But I do agree this isn't a good gift item unless you specifically know the person needs a new corkscrew. I hate having redundant stuff.
    - convolvatron 5y ago
      i'm pretty certain that most of OXOs sales are due to the fact that many grocery stores just have one little section of kitchen tools and only carry that brand. they are ugly, not particularly ergonomic and age horribly.
- marcosdumay 5y ago
  Well, I'm yet to see any model that actually gives you greater mechanical leverage. But there are models that have a two-handed operation that doesn't require the tiny bit of skill the GP's one need to not break the cork.
  - antiterra 5y ago
hughrr 5y ago
I’ve got a Swiss Army knife that’s twenty years older than me. Does the job well and many other ones too and will outlive me no doubt. As for fancy contraptions, these can be avoided by drinking the whole bottle when you open it, preferably with someone interesting at hand to share it! Wine is awful stuff without good company.
Fnoord 5y ago
I don't understand French but I got one which resembles your first one (or should I say the zeroth..). Works pretty well. You can also just use a swiss army knife, if you don't often open a bottle. Because, in theory, you would use the swiss army knife for a whole lot of other things, saving space and money. In a tiny house I would prefer a swiss army knife. The solution to not getting stuff I don't want is simple (even though I could appreciate Tony Chocolonely chocolate, or a Steam voucher). I tell people to not bother, give our young kids some more instead. At a certain age in life, if you want/need something you buy it, and you don't what (what I call in Dutch) prullaria (anymore). Boring? Difficult? No problem, my kids are easier to serve. Although I do remove (sometimes temporarily) and eventually resell stuff of theirs. Even there, I believe less is more and its easier to clean and sort, too. But buying allows them to try things out.
- toomanybeersies 5y ago
  You don't even need a Swiss Army Knife, if you don't drink a lot of corked wine, a shoe will do just fine [1]. Seriously though, Swiss Army Knives are the epitome of "jack of all trades, master of none". It's so much better to use the proper tool for the job. I've had the same $10 sommelier knife longer than I've ever owned a Swiss Army Knife (since my wine knife stays in the kitchen drawer). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXihX13xjqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXihX13xjqQ
kurthr 5y ago
As a wine drinker, I agree with all of this... even though I use the Rabbit I got years ago. I find it convenient, but others do not. One comment on Coravin from a professional (I've only used it a couple of times) is that it works well on some corks and not on others, particularly older ones. They can leak significantly, which makes it useless for your expensive old cab. Also, temperature stability becomes VERY critical as any change causes pressure in the bottle to change, and air to ex-change!

throwaway55421 5y ago

Eh? I don't agree with this at all. If you have a "certain level of wealth", why would you move from tiny apartment to tiny apartment? You have no need to sell your previous one, or just no need to move. Also, why are they tiny? It sounds like you're talking about being nomadic on a middle to high income. Most wealthy people I know own big houses in places like Kensington or Hampstead or whatever the equivalent is. They might also have a pied a terre or three, sure, but they're not constantly moving.

lostmsu 5y ago
I think the point was that moving from tiny apartment to tiny apartment happened before he became wealthy, so he compares now, where he has to maintain all that stuff (car, house, furniture in all rooms, yard) vs before when he had maybe a sofa, a desk, and a laptop.
rodelrod 5y ago
Moving a lot served me as a recurring reminder of the burden of stuff, but it's not the only way that it materializes. Stuff takes space, stuff adds clutter, some stuff requires administrative overhead, most stuff requires maintenance. I prefer tiny apartments in central neighbourhoods than bigger ones in the suburbs. Stuff enters into that equation. I can't afford a big house in Kensington. So OK, if I could afford a big house in Kensington plus a couple of pied-à-terre, maybe I wouldn't worry so much about stuff. I could have an extra room for a corkscrew collection and hired hands to deal with it. Stuff staff. I added the "certain level of wealth" qualifier to make it clear that I didn't mean to claim that being burdened by stuff is a universal experience. It's a problem tied to abundance, like obesity and information overload. This level of wealth is much lower than what most people would consider "wealthy".

lostmsu 5y ago

I had an ingeniously evil thought in that regard, that if you don't like somebody, and you have money to spend, you could anonymously buy a few items of low-quality on Amazon to the person's address and name as gifts. Most people, even relatively well-off ones will keep free stuff. And will be in pain either because they will actually continue using it, and get annoyed by its low quality, or stop using it, but leave it around as junk because of the instinct to hoard.

bikingbismuth 5y ago

I have a Coravin, and I have found it to be pretty low maintenance (other than having to buy replacement argon canisters). I bought it when my wife was pregnant and have continued to use it with white wines (I’m the only one who drinks white in my social group).

rodelrod 5y ago
Nice to hear about your experience, sounds like a good use case. I briefly considered it to allow better food pairings in small dinners. The marginal benefit wouldn't justify the cost of ownership for me, though.

leephillips 5y ago

I’m with you on the waiter’s friend. No need for any weird contraptions there.

antiterra 5y ago

> the only one you'll ever need is a double-stepped waiters corkscrew > Everything in between, I really don't see the point. The point is some people have things like arthritis or other challenges that benefit from greater mechanical advantage.

rodelrod 5y ago
That would be a good reason. None of the many people I've seen getting these for Christmas over the years had arthritis. What they did all have was a friend or relative with a social obligation to buy some crap for them and a zillion other people in a crowded mall on the 24th afternoon.
- kentonv 5y ago
  Well, the reason Oxo has been so successful is that it turns out that if you make things easier to hold and use, it is not only better for people with arthritis, but it turns out almost everyone else likes it better too. You may not need it, but why would you not prefer an easier grip, all else being equal? But I do agree this isn't a good gift item unless you specifically know the person needs a new corkscrew. I hate having redundant stuff.
  - convolvatron 5y ago
    i'm pretty certain that most of OXOs sales are due to the fact that many grocery stores just have one little section of kitchen tools and only carry that brand. they are ugly, not particularly ergonomic and age horribly.
marcosdumay 5y ago
Well, I'm yet to see any model that actually gives you greater mechanical leverage. But there are models that have a two-handed operation that doesn't require the tiny bit of skill the GP's one need to not break the cork.
- antiterra 5y ago

hughrr 5y ago

I’ve got a Swiss Army knife that’s twenty years older than me. Does the job well and many other ones too and will outlive me no doubt. As for fancy contraptions, these can be avoided by drinking the whole bottle when you open it, preferably with someone interesting at hand to share it! Wine is awful stuff without good company.

Fnoord 5y ago

I don't understand French but I got one which resembles your first one (or should I say the zeroth..). Works pretty well. You can also just use a swiss army knife, if you don't often open a bottle. Because, in theory, you would use the swiss army knife for a whole lot of other things, saving space and money. In a tiny house I would prefer a swiss army knife. The solution to not getting stuff I don't want is simple (even though I could appreciate Tony Chocolonely chocolate, or a Steam voucher). I tell people to not bother, give our young kids some more instead. At a certain age in life, if you want/need something you buy it, and you don't what (what I call in Dutch) prullaria (anymore). Boring? Difficult? No problem, my kids are easier to serve. Although I do remove (sometimes temporarily) and eventually resell stuff of theirs. Even there, I believe less is more and its easier to clean and sort, too. But buying allows them to try things out.

toomanybeersies 5y ago
You don't even need a Swiss Army Knife, if you don't drink a lot of corked wine, a shoe will do just fine [1]. Seriously though, Swiss Army Knives are the epitome of "jack of all trades, master of none". It's so much better to use the proper tool for the job. I've had the same $10 sommelier knife longer than I've ever owned a Swiss Army Knife (since my wine knife stays in the kitchen drawer). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXihX13xjqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXihX13xjqQ

kurthr 5y ago

As a wine drinker, I agree with all of this... even though I use the Rabbit I got years ago. I find it convenient, but others do not. One comment on Coravin from a professional (I've only used it a couple of times) is that it works well on some corks and not on others, particularly older ones. They can leak significantly, which makes it useless for your expensive old cab. Also, temperature stability becomes VERY critical as any change causes pressure in the bottle to change, and air to ex-change!