Drinking straw

A straw is a long tube.

You put one end in your mouth. You put the other end in a drink. When you suck on the straw, the liquid moves up. This helps you sip your juice.

Straws have been around for a long time. Some very old straws were made of gold.

People used them to drink beer.

Many straws are made of plastic. Some straws can bend. These are called bendy straws. They help you drink from a low angle.

Some straws are made of paper. Others are made of metal or bamboo. These can be used many times. This helps the Earth.

Straws can be fun too. Some have shapes or characters on them. They are helpful tools for drinking.

A straw is a tool used to drink liquids.

You put one end in your mouth. You put the other end in a drink. When you suck on the straw, you lower the pressure in your mouth. This lets the air around the drink push the liquid up the tube.

Straws are very old. Some were found in ancient tombs. These were made of gold.

In the 1800s, people used rye straws. But these became mushy in liquid. Marvin Stone made paper straws to fix this.

Many straws are made of plastic. They are cheap and light. Some plastic straws can bend. We call these articulated straws. They have a hinge to help you drink.

Today, many people use different straws. Plastic can hurt the ocean. This has led to new kinds of straws. You can use metal, bamboo, or paper. Some people even use straws made of pasta or seaweed.

A drinking straw is a handy tool used to carry liquids to your mouth.

It works through a clever way of using air pressure. When you place one end in your mouth and suck, you lower the pressure inside your mouth. This creates suction. Because of this, the atmospheric pressure around the drink pushes the liquid up the tube. This simple method makes it much easier to sip beverages. Straws are also very helpful for people with certain physical disabilities. They can help anyone who has a hard job holding a glass or swallowing.

People have been using straws for a very long time. The earliest known straws were made by the Sumerians to drink beer. They even used special strainer-tips to catch solid bits in the drink.

Some very old straws were even made of precious metal. In Armenia, experts found metal tubes from the Maykop culture. These date back to between 3700 and 2900 BCE. Another fancy example was a gold tube with blue lapis lazuli found in a Sumerian tomb from 3000 BCE.

In the 1800s, many people used straws made from rye. These were cheap and soft, but they had a big problem. They would turn into mush when they sat in liquid. To fix this, an American named Marvin C. Stone patented the modern paper straw in 1888. He got the idea while drinking a mint julep in Washington, D.C. The rye straw made his drink taste like grass. He made a prototype by winding paper around a pencil. He later built a machine to coat the paper in wax so it would stay strong.

Today, most straws are made of plastic like polypropylene. This material is light, cheap, and very strong. It can also handle both hot and cold drinks without changing shape. Some plastic straws are "articulated," which means they have a bendy part. Joseph Friedman invented these in 1937 to help his daughter drink more easily. There are also special straws for different jobs. For example, boba tea straws are wide to fit tasty tapioca pearls.

Even astronauts use special straws in space to keep liquids from floating away.

Many people are now looking for new kinds of straws. This is because plastic waste can be a problem for the ocean. A video of a sea turtle helped people see this danger.

Now, many companies use materials like paper, bamboo, or metal. Some people even use reusable straws made of silicone or glass.

There are even edible straws made from rice, seaweed, or candy! These changes help protect our planet while we enjoy our favorite drinks.

A drinking straw is a simple utensil used to transport liquids to the mouth. It relies on a physical process called suction to function. To use a straw, a person places one end in their mouth and the other in a beverage. By lowering the pressure inside the mouth through suction, the surrounding atmospheric pressure forces the liquid up through the tube.

This mechanism makes consuming liquids much safer and easier for many people. Straws are especially important for individuals with physical disabilities that affect swallowing. They also assist children, the elderly, and patients recovering from dental procedures.

The history of straws stretches back to the earliest recorded eras. The first known straws were used by the Sumerians to drink beer. These early users often utilized reusable strainer-tips to filter out solid byproducts from fermentation.

Some of the oldest surviving straws are metal tubes found in Armenia. These belong to the Maykop culture and date from 3700 to 2900 BCE. In a Sumerian tomb from 3000 BCE, archaeologists found an elaborate gold tube inlaid with blue lapis lazuli. In the 1800s, rye straws became popular because they were soft and inexpensive. However, these straws often turned into mush when they sat in liquid.

In 1888, an American named Marvin C. Stone patented the modern paper straw. He developed this idea in Washington, D.C., while drinking a mint julep. He found that the rye straw changed the taste of his drink to something grassy. To solve this, he wound paper around a pencil to create a tube. He later built a machine to coat the paper in wax. This prevented the glue and paper from dissolving in drinks like bourbon. Mass production of straws increased significantly during the 20th century. In 1930, Otto W. Dieffenbach Sr. produced cellophane straws in Baltimore. Following World War II, plastic straws became widespread because the materials were inexpensive.

Modern plastic straws are often made from a thermoplastic polymer called polypropylene. This material is chosen because it is lightweight, durable, and very cheap to manufacture. Other common polymers include polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These plastics can withstand many different temperatures without deforming. This makes them useful for both hot and cold beverages.

Some straws are designed with a concertina-type hinge, known as an articulated straw. Joseph Friedman invented these in 1937 after seeing his daughter struggle with straight straws. Other specialized types include wide boba tea straws and narrow stir straws for coffee.

Straws are also used in highly complex environments like outer space. During the 1998 NASA mission STS-95, astronauts used straws to drink. In microgravity, special drinking equipment helps prevent liquids from escaping containment. This prevents liquids from floating away and contaminating sensitive equipment.

In South America, a specific metal straw called a bombilla is used. It features a filter on the bottom to drink a mate infusion.

Today, many people are moving away from single-use plastics due to environmental concerns. Plastic pollution in the ocean has become a major global issue. A viral video showing a sea turtle with a straw in its nostril increased public awareness.

Some groups estimate that 500 million straws are used daily in the United States. While these numbers are debated, straws remain a common item in ocean trash. In the 2023 International Coastal Cleanup, straws and stirrers were the 9th most collected item. This resulted in 415,957 items being gathered by volunteers.

To protect the environment, many companies now offer alternative materials. Reusable straws are often made from metal, glass, or silicone. Some are made from polylactic acid (PLA), which is a biodegradable polymer.

Other disposable options include straws made of paper, cardboard, bamboo, or even pasta. Some even create edible straws from seaweed, rice, or candy. These innovations allow people to enjoy their drinks while reducing their impact on the planet.