National Drinking Straw Day Date in the current year: January 3, 2024

The first known drinking straws were made by the Sumerians. They were used for drinking beer. Argentinians have been using a metallic device called a bombilla for drinking mate for centuries. A bombilla acts both as a drinking straw and sieve.

In the early 19th century, drinking straws made of rye grass came into fashion because they were soft and cheap. However, such straws had a significant drawback. They quickly turned into mush in liquid, giving drinks a grassy taste.

To fix this flaw, American inventor and entrepreneur Marvin C. Stone made a paper drinking straw by wounding paper around a pencil and gluing it to make a thin tube. He later began to coat drinking straws with wax to hold them together and prevent them from getting soggy when used. Stone received a patent for his invention on January 3, 1888. This day is now celebrated as the birthday of the modern drinking straw.

Today, drinking straws are typically made from polypropylene. Alongside basic drinking straws that are straight for the full length, there also are bendable straws. They were invented by Joseph Friedman in 1937.