Drawing Straws

I think one of my favorite things about grade school was getting to drink chocolate milk from those miniature cartons. It cost three cents to buy chocolate milk- compared to two cents for the white- but I never did like milk in the first place. Only chocolate made it bearable for me.
Plus the wonderful striped straws!

Who wouldn't enjoy a refreshing beverage sipped from a red and white paper straw?
This simple accessory made lunchtime entertaining and attractive.

Marvin C. Stone invented the drinking straw on January 3rd, 1888. Experimenting with paper wrapped around a pencil- and a wax coating, he introduced the world to a timeless way of enjoying a drink.
Or shooting paper wads.

I think many of us today take this invention for granted- rarely considering the advantage and tidiness of a straw. Every fast food and sit-down restaurant in the country offers a straw with the purchase of a drink.
Free! Hey- take two if you want!
Can you imagine the mess that some kids would make with a chocolate shake or a root beer float- if they didn't have a straw?
And how would we adults stir our mixed drinks at the bar without that little red straw-stirrer?

Straws are sometimes like the cherry on a sundae- just extra bling on an otherwise ho-hum food presentation. Doesn't a tall glass of icy lemonade just look better with a straw? And doesn't it make an iced coffee seem more sophisticated?

 

 

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But maybe you just want to play with straws.... Like this:

Pinterest image

I even found a website where you can buy the original paper straws:

http://www.jackandlulu.com/products/ss001.html

Thanks. Mr. Stone- for inventing this simple pleasure!

Well, I'm off to keep my New Year's resolutions! Which is why you may want to tune in later this week when I'll probably need an umbrella in my drink instead of a straw!

But, you know- sometimes that's Just The Way It Is...