Editing Drinking straw (section)

==History==
=== Early examples ===
[[File:Stèle Mercenaire syrien 18ème dynastie Neues Museum image éclaircie et perspective corrigée.jpg|thumb|300px|Ancient Egyptian painting, [[18th dynasty]], reign of [[Akhenaten]] (Amenophis IV), {{Circa}} 1300 BCE, depicting use of an early form of drinking straw in [[beer]]-drinking. [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]]]]

The first known straws were made by the [[Sumer]]ians and were used for drinking beer,<ref name="thompson2011">{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=Derek|date=22 November 2011|title=The Amazing History and the Strange Invention of the Bendy Straw|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/11/the-amazing-history-and-the-strange-invention-of-the-bendy-straw/248923/}}</ref> probably to avoid the solid byproducts of [[Fermentation (food)|fermentation]] that sink to the bottom.<ref name="maeir1992">{{cite journal |doi=10.1179/007589192790220793 |title=Bone and Metal Straw-tip Beer-strainers from the Ancient Near East |journal=Levant |volume=24 |pages=218–223 |year=2013 |last1=Maeir |first1=Aren M. |last2=Garfinkel |first2=Yosef }}</ref><ref name="homan2004">{{cite journal |last1=Homan |first1=Michael |title=Beer and Its Drinkers: An Ancient Near Eastern Love Story |journal=Near Eastern Archaeology |date=2004 |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=84–95 |url=https://www.academia.edu/17738197 |doi=10.2307/4132364 |jstor=4132364 |s2cid=162357890 }}</ref> The oldest drinking straw in existence, found in a Sumerian tomb dated 3,000&nbsp;BCE, was a gold tube inlaid with the precious blue stone [[lapis lazuli]].<ref name="thompson2011" /> Others claim metal ‘sceptres’ discovered in Armenia in 1897 and date to the [[Maykop culture]] (3700 to 2900 BCE) as the oldest surviving straws.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-01-19|title=The oldest known drinking straws date back to over 5,000 years ago|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/oldest-drinking-straw-gold-silver-russia|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Science News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dvorsky |first1=George |title=These 5,000-Year-Old Drinking Straws Were Used to Sip Beer, Researchers Say |url=https://gizmodo.com/these-5-000-year-old-drinking-straws-were-used-to-sip-b-1848378709 |access-date=20 January 2022 |work=[[Gizmodo]] |date=18 January 2022 |language=en-us}}</ref>

[[File:BombillaParaguay.JPG|thumb|A ''[[bombilla]]'', a metal straw with a filter on the bottom, traditionally used for drinking [[mate (beverage)|mate]]]]In the 1800s, the [[rye]] straw came into fashion because it was cheap and soft, but it had an unfortunate tendency to turn to mush when put in liquid.<ref name="thompson2011" />

[[File:Stone's Patent Paper Julep Straws.png|thumb|upright|1895 advertisement for Marvin Stone's paper straws]]

American [[Marvin Stone|Marvin C. Stone]] patented the modern drinking straw, {{frac|8|1|2}} inches long and made of paper, in 1888, to address the shortcomings of the rye straw.<ref>{{cite patent|country-code=US|patent-number=375962|title=Artificial straw|issue-date=1888|inventor1-last=Stone|inventor1-first=Marvin}}</ref> He came upon the idea while drinking a [[mint julep]] on a hot day in Washington, D.C.;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/history-of-the-straw|title=A Brief History of the Straw|last=Hollander|first=Catherine|website=bonappetit.com|date=23 October 2014 |access-date=6 August 2018}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5336242/plastic-straws-history/|title=The Backlash Against Plastic Straws Is Spreading. Here's How They Got So Popular in the First Place|magazine=Time|access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/straws-history|title=A Brief History of the Modern-Day Straw, the World's Most Wasteful Commodity|date=7 July 2017|website=atlasobscura.com|access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref> the taste of the rye straw was mixing with the drink and giving it a grassy taste, which he found unsatisfactory.<ref name="thompson2011" /> He wound paper around a pencil to make a thin tube, slid out the pencil from one end, and applied glue between the strips.<ref name="thompson2011" /> He later refined it by building a machine that would coat the outside of the paper with wax to hold it together, so the glue would not dissolve in [[Bourbon (whiskey)|bourbon]].<ref name="thompson2011" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/drinks/a54072/paper-cocktail-straws/|title=Honestly, Who Likes Paper Straws?|date=23 March 2017|website=esquire.com|access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref><ref>http://www.youngscientist.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Year-5_Straws-that-Stay_YSA.pdf Year 5 – Straws that Stay</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shop.driehausmuseum.org/products/1888-heavy-duty-paper-drinking-straws-pack-of-24|title=1888 Heavy-Duty Paper Drinking Straws (Pack of 24)|website=Driehaus Museum Store|access-date=10 August 2021|archive-date=10 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810034026/https://shop.driehausmuseum.org/products/1888-heavy-duty-paper-drinking-straws-pack-of-24|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/suck-on-this-the-drinking-straw-was-invented-in-washington/2018/11/03/f6050bae-deb8-11e8-b3f0-62607289efee_story.html| title = Good to the last drop: The drinking straw was invented in Washington - The Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

According to a 1925 bulletin from the [[National Geographic Society]], the people of [[Jubaland]] (modern-day [[Somalia]]) used hollow "drinking sticks", two feet long and half an inch in diameter, to drink from the yak tree.<ref>{{cite news |title=Evening Star |volume= |issue= |date=14 June 1925 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1925-06-14/ed-1/seq-59/ |work=Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers |publisher=Library of Congress |accessdate=6 January 2025}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2025|reason=The original National Geographic source needs to be verified.}}

Early paper straws had a narrow bore, to prevent seeds from clogging them. It was common to use two of them, to reduce the effort needed to take each sip.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

=== Mass production ===
Plastic straws became widespread following [[World War II]]. The materials used in their manufacture were inexpensive, and the types of restaurant fare that they accompanied had become more affordable and popular.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5336242/plastic-straws-history/|title=The Backlash Against Plastic Straws Is Spreading. Here's How They Got So Popular in the First Place|magazine=Time|language=en|access-date=3 December 2018}}</ref>

In 1930, Otto W. Dieffenbach Sr. developed and produced a cellophane drinking straw in Baltimore. His company known as Glassips Inc., produced straws for restaurants and other products. One [https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/aa/cb/93/365de0299f670b/US2678665-drawings-page-1.png patent] dates to 1954. Dieffenbach served as chairman until 1972 and the business, then based in [[Towson, Maryland]], was sold in 1979.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17658362/otto-dieffenbach-19-nov-1880-7-july/|title=Otto Dieffenbach (19 Nov 1880 - 7 July 1973)|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=9 July 1973|pages=9|via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/|title=Baltimore Sun: Baltimore breaking news, sports, business, entertainment, weather and traffic|website=baltimoresun.com}}</ref>

One of the first mass-produced twisted straw was Sip-N-See invented by Milton Dinhofer.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Monkey Business |journal=Rensselaer |issue=Spring/2015 |pages=12–13 |publisher=Office of Strategic Communications and External Relations, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute}}</ref> Dinhofer originally patented his straw in the shape of a scissor with two loops on top,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dinhofer |first1=M. |title=Drinking Straw |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/USD158056 |website=Google Patents |access-date=29 December 2018}}</ref> but [[Macy's]] would not carry the straw unless it had a character on it. They suggested Dinhofer make three straws (eventually patented in 1950):<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dinhofer |first1=Milton |title=Toy Drinking Tube |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2619770A/en |website=Google Patents |access-date=29 December 2018}}</ref> a cowboy, a clown and an animal for which he made an elephant. Each of his characters was attached to a looping soft [[polyethylene]] straw. Rexor Corp. copyrighted<ref>{{cite web |title=Catalogue of Copyright Entries: Third Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8lUhAQAAIAAJ&q=Rexor+corp.+straw+1950&pg=RA1-PA81 |website=Google Books |publisher=The Library of Congress |access-date=29 December 2018 |pages=80 |date=January–June 1950}}</ref> the straw the same year, but Macy's decided not to carry them. Dinhofer first marketed the straws with [[F. W. Woolworth Company|Woolworths]]. The straws were sold in individual boxes, and more characters were eventually added.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dinhofer |first1=M. |title=Drinking Straw |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/USD169241S/en?inventor=Milton+Dinhofer |website=Google Patents |access-date=29 December 2018}}</ref> Other buyers began to carry it, too, and it was marketed as an "action drinking toy."<ref>{{cite news |title=Sip-N-See Advertisement |work=The North Adams Transcript |date=14 August 1951 |location=North Adams, Massachusetts |pages=3}}</ref> Sip-N-See went on to sell approximately six million units.{{cn|date=October 2024}}