There is no exact recorded moment in history where the idea to use a tube to drink liquids was conceived, however there is a time when the manufactured drinking straw was invented. This was in the late 1800s by a man named Marvin Stone (Swaby). Up until Marvin Stone started inventing, the only straw available was literal straw. People would use rye grass to drink. What inspired Marvin Stone to invent a better sucking device were the inadequacies of the natural straw. When using rye grass it was common for the grass fall apart in the liquid and add an unpleasant texture of dirt to the your drink (Swaby). Marvin fixed this by inventing a paper straw. As popularity grew with his straw he eventually patented a paraffin-coated manila version in 1888 (Swaby).
The man behind the bend
Improvements didn't stop there! The next man to lift the mantle of the drinking straw high was Joseph Friedman. What Joseph wanted to solve was the unwieldy nature presented by an unbending straw. So Joseph invented a straw that a had a little bend to it. By 1946 Joseph and his company Flex-Straw were pumping out straws for hospital use (Swaby). It wasn't until later that the bendy straws were marketed for home use.
