Drinking Straw Day

January 3 is an unusual date celebrated all over the world This day is dedicated to cocktail straws Initially, such devices were made from straw, which is how their name arose Later, artificial straws began to be used, the creator of which was US businessman Marvin Stone According to legend, one day he was working in his office and drinking a cocktail through a rye straw At some point, its individual fibers disintegrated and got stuck in the entrepreneur’s mouth Then he took a strip of paper, applied glue to one edge of it and wound it in a spiral around a pencil, thus creating a tube that was more convenient for drinking Although this had to be done quite quickly, because the paper soon became wet and lost its shape Marvin decided to improve his design when he accidentally saw a stamp for envelopes (in those years they were made from manila paper, which made them very durable) It was from this material that Stone began making tubes At the same time, he used a diameter that did not allow lemon seeds to pass through On January 3, 1888, the businessman filed a patent for his invention The second step in the evolution of straws occurred in the mid-30s of the 20th century, when Joseph Friedman, a realtor by profession, decided to continue transforming the straw by inventing a corrugated part that allows it to be bent for maximum comfort of use In the fall of 1937, he patented the invention Despite this, none of the manufacturers were interested in the new product After all attempts to implement his invention ended in failure, Friedman decided to manufacture them personally He came up with a unique technology that facilitates mass production of this type of straw Subsequently, he was able to bring the product to market A couple of years later, Friedman opened the Flexible Straw Corporation company to create “flexible straws” and launched their mass production After 10 years, this business turned Joseph into a real millionaire The very first, besides cafes and pubs, to appreciate the development were medical institutions Convenient straws made it possible to give water to bedridden patients without spilling water or using glass straws, which required regular sterilization Besides, they could break at any moment Since that time, flexible tubes have remained virtually unchanged Now straws are a fairly common accessory in everyday life Millions of people around the world use them every day Modern products come in different shapes and shades At the same time, straws are used not only for consuming a variety of drinks They are also often used by creative individuals when creating all kinds of compositions and crafts