[Sca-cooks] How old are drinking straws?

[johnna holloway]

Drinking Straws
In 1888, Marvin Stone patented the spiral winding process to
manufacture the first paper drinking straws. Stone was already a
manufacturer of paper cigarette holders. His idea was to make
paper drinking straws. Before his straws, beverage drinkers
were using the natural rye grass straws.
The product was patented on January the 3rd, 1888.
Later other kinds of spiral-wound paper and non-paper products were
made.
In 1928, electrical engineers began to use spiral-wound tubes in
the first mass produced radios. All made by the same process
invented by Stone. Stone Industrial History The Way Things Work -
Drinking Straws
 taken from
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstraws.htm

Johnna Holloway Johnnae llyn Lewis

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"Mark.S Harris" wrote:
> That made me wonder just how early drinking straws are?
> Were they used in medieval times? Even if used in Classical
> times this wouldn't necessarily indicate use in the Middle Ages.
> Anyone know? While of course plastic ones are modern they
> can be made of other materials, paper, metal, glass, reeds.
>> I would think when they were used they would show up
> in drawings of table settings or elsewhere.> Stefan li Rous