NATIONAL DRINKING STRAW DAY

On January 3, 1888, Marvin C. Stone received the patent for the paper drinking straw.  In acknowledgment of that invention, each year on January 3, people across the nation observe National Drinking Straw Day.

It is believed that the very first drinking straws were used by the Sumerians for drinking beer.  It is speculated that they used the straws to avoid the solid byproducts of fermentation that would have sank to the bottom.  The oldest drinking straw known to be in existence was found in a Sumerian tomb dated 3,000 B.C.E.  This found straw was a gold tube inlaid with a precious blue stone.

Neighbors to the Sumerians, the Argentines used a similar metallic device called a bombilla.  Used for hundreds of years, the bombilla acted as both a straw and a sieve.