Head with steel worm.

The (Gun) Worm that Turns

Soldiers once used “gun worms,” metal claws mounted to the end of wooden ramrods, to clear bullets and wadding from the barrels of muskets that had failed to fire. The curled tip inspired the winding shape of a corkscrew, once known as a steel worm.

                                 "Things hidden in my head" Copyright 2013 © Ronald D. Isom, Sr.

During one of my treks through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew.

We were compelled to live on food and water for several days.

— W. C. Fields