History of the invention

The history of the cocktail straw goes back several thousand years. The first versions of tubes were found by archaeologists during the excavations of the Sumerian civilization, who lived in the third – fourth millennium BC.

These, the oldest tubes, were used to drink a drink obtained in the fermentation process, which can be considered an early version of beer.

Since the fermentation products formed a thick sediment, the straws helped to drink the settled part of the drink that is on top. By the way, the first tubes were much more expensive than modern ones, as they were made of gold and precious stones.

Much later, already in the 18th century, it became fashionable to use ordinary straw as a tube.

After conducting a series of experiments, he received a patent for his invention in January 1888, and two years later, his straws replaced the straws in the glasses of cocktail fans. Later, plastic began to be used as an alternative raw material, but the straw, as before, remained a direct classical form.

And only in 1937, another innovator, Joseph Friedman, watching his daughter drink a milkshake and try to bend the tube, invented and patented a new version. Its tube contained a section assembled with an accordion, which allowed it to be bent at the required angle.

Over time, another, quite popular type of tubes, shaped in shape, appeared. They can be twisted into incredible spirals, as a result of which the drink moves through it, like on an attraction in a water park. There is no functional benefit in shaped tubes, and their use has the sole purpose of additional decoration of the drink.