Today in 1899, US Patent 625055 A was issued, an invention of William Painter, for his “Closure for Sealing Bottles.” There’s no Abstract, but in the description they describe an “invention [that] relates to closures for sealing bottles; and it is designed to provide for the ready and easy discharge of the contents of the bottle without the removal of the entire closure.” Basically, it’s an improvement to the crown, or bottle cap, that Painter first invented and patented in 1892.