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The Popener

As soon as I heard of the existence of this bottle opener adorned with the picture of Pope John Paul II, I wanted one. It is the perfect blend of a figure of eminence with a mundane item of everyday utility. Even its name reflects this dichotomy: the Popener. It has the same sort of oxymoronic charm possessed by the Chairman Mao cigarette lighter, but it's even better than that because of the way cool name.

For years, I could not find a popener anywhere, not even on eBay. In 2003, I discovered that a friend was headed to Rome, and asked her to keep an eye out for one in the souvenir shops. When she returned, she casually handed me the treasured item, and said, "there was a barrel full of them in a shop just outside the Vatican." The reverse side of the popener shows St. Peter's Square, which is part of the Vatican complex.

After Pope John Paul II died in 2005, a Popener was listed at auction on eBay, with a starting price of $50.00. Days later, a few others popped up on eBay, driving the price down to less than $10.00. This went on for a few weeks, and then stopped. Will there be a Pope Benedict XVI popener? Stay tuned...

...Okay I'm back. Yes, there is a Pope Benedict XVI popener for sale. I found it on eBay. Unlike the John Paul II popener, it does not have an image of St. Peter's Square on the reverse side. It has the picture of John Paul II. This shows how popular John Paul II was, and I suppose they didn't want to have both kinds of popeners for sale at the same time.

I'm still not using any of my popeners to open any bottles. I broke the first one opening a bottle of Pete's Wicked Ale.