I' ve been using them, unscrewing them, and screwing them all day as I labour through the exciting (stifles a yawn as wide as the widest mouth frog) world of Do-it-youself, or in my case, Damage-it-yourself!

What are scews, where do they come from, and why when I want them to go straight do they try to  twist and turn like a twisty-turny thing.

Dating from the  1st century, screws were made from wood and were used in wine presses, and in oil presses, and for pressing clothes, too. Metal screws and nuts, more akin to what we recognise today,  first appeared in the 15th century.





So they have been around a long time, and even if I had beeen around with them from the 15th century, I still would not of got the hang of them:)