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Concept
Drinking straw
Summary
A drinking straw is a utensil that is intended to carry the contents of a beverage to one's mouth. Straws are commonly made from plastics but environmental concerns and new regulation have led to rise in reusable and biodegradable straws. These straws are often made of silicone, cardboard, or metal. A straw is used by placing one end in one's mouth and the other in a beverage. By employing suction, the air pressure in one's mouth drops causing atmospheric pressure to force the liquid through the straw and into the mouth. Drinking straws can be straight or have an angle-adjustable bellows segment. Drinking straws have historically been intended as a single-use product and several countries, regions, and municipalities have banned single-use plastic straws to reduce plastic pollution. Additionally, some companies have even voluntarily banned or reduced the number of plastic straws distributed from their premises.
The first known straws were made by the Sumerians and were used for drinking beer, probably to avoid the solid byproducts of fermentation that sink to the bottom. The oldest drinking straw in existence, found in a Sumerian tomb dated 3,000 BCE, was a gold tube inlaid with the precious blue stone lapis lazuli. Others claim metal ‘sceptres’ discovered in Armenia in 1897 and date to the Maykop culture (3700 to 2900 BCE) as the oldest surviving straws.
Argentines and their neighbors have, for several hundred years, used (for drinking mate tea) a similar metallic device called a bombilla, that acts as both a straw and a sieve.
In the 1800s, the rye grass straw came into fashion because it was cheap and soft, but it had an unfortunate tendency to turn to mush when put in liquid.
American Marvin C. Stone patented the modern drinking straw, 8 1/2 inches long and made of paper, in 1888, to address the shortcomings of the rye grass straw. He came upon the idea while drinking a mint julep on a hot day in Washington, D.C.; the taste of the rye grass straw was mixing with the drink and giving it a grassy taste, which he found unsatisfactory.
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