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Every year $500 million worth of wine is dumped because impurities in
the cork make it go off. Traditionally, cork is boiled to drive off chemicals
and kill germs, but it is such a poor conductor of heat that the interior often
doesn’t get hot enough. Now Germany’s National Research Institute for
Agriculture, Horticulture and Viticulture has developed a machine that
microwaves cork planks evenly. This heats them enough to purify the wood.