HISTORY OF THE DRINKING STRAW

Whether paper, plastic, bamboo or glass, people have been sipping through hollow tubes for centuries. Between 6000 to 7,000 years ago, the ancient Mesopotamians invented the very first straws, usually made from wood and, sometimes, gold to reach the beer sitting below fermentation byproducts floating on top.

The first patent for a drinking straw was filed in 1888 by Marvin Chester Stone, a paper cigarette holder manufacturer. The legend goes that he was drinking a mint julep when the piece of rye grass he was using as a straw disintegrated. Determined to make something better, he wrapped and glued strips of paper around a pencil, coming up with the first prototype of paper drinking straws. By 1890, Stone Industrial was mass producing them. Stone promised his customers “health, cleanliness and economy,” with his straws, which reassured some of those who were concerned about catching the myriad diseases of the time. Paper straws allowed them to avoid making direct contact with the glass while drinking. At one point, Stone was producing two million paper straws a day in his factory. 

Bendy straws were created in the 1930s when inventor Joseph Friedman inserted a screw into the straw, wrapped floss around the screw's grooves, and took out the screw. With indentations, the straw could easily bend without breaking and his young daughter could then easily drink her milkshake.

Straws have been made from precious metals, grains like wheat and rye, paper, plastic and lots more.

Tracy