Utensil for removing twist-off lids of containers

An apparatus for opening containers with screw-off lids, the apparatus comprising:

• a lid-wedging plate held by one hand on the lid to be unscrewed, the lid-wedging plate having on the plate's under surface, two walls, at right angles to the plate, and mounted to face each other at an angle to one another, respectively;
• a connecting arm having a first end pivotally attached to the plate and a second free end, the plate further comprising an axle at a right angle to the plate;
• the free end of the connecting arm further comprising:
• a winding drum;
• a handle operably connected to the winding drum;
• and,
• a flexible ribbon forming a loop to encircle the container and mounted to the winding drum, said loop being closed where it is mounted on the winding drum, such that the flexible ribbon is wound up around the drum as it is rotated by the handle while the drum turns on an axle that is at a right angle to the plate at the free end of the connecting arm, where the rotation of the handle causes self-wedging of the lid under the plate as the flexible ribbon tightens around the container below the lid at the level of the necking just below its screw threads.