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Thu 15 May, 2003 05:55 pm
...About once a week we succumb to the allure of the incredibly great but greasy food from the diner down the street. Today I had the bacon-cheeseburger and fries. Awesome. Also, unsweetened iced-tea.
Paul came back with the bags of stuff but he forgot to get straws for the drinks. There was some consternation about that. "Bad, Paul, bad, bad, bad."
But then we started to talk about straws. How is it that straws became such a common but seemingly unnecessary part of our lives?
My theory is that...never mind, I'd like to hear your ideas. -rjb-
My theory is that it all started with children or sick people.
(To keep messes to a minimum...)
Another interesting question...why is it that soft drinks (pop, soda, cokes, etc.) are always served with straws in the northern U.S., but never in the South?
The Last Straw
No big deal. I'm sure some history major could pinpoint the exact moment the need for a straw became of paramount importance. A guy would just pick it up and drink. So what. It's certainly not the straw that broke the camel's back.
I always thought it was so the ice didn't hit your teeth.
I live in the south and have always plucked the straws out of my drink.....
As a teenager, I remember hearing the myth that you'd get a better buzz if you drank beer out of a straw.
Paisonally, I prefer a glass with my straw!
Well, our 'sucking' ability is the first one we develop when born, so I suppose a straw is actually more natural than drinking out of a glass. That's why they make those little sippy cups for kids. Trying to pour something into your mouth is a finely honed skill. I long for the days I stop dribbling on myself.
You tend to drink beer faster out of a straw but still way below an IV on the consumption scale.
Not to mention, it keeps my precious little puckers from getting all chilly.
I don't know about the south vs. the north thing, but soda is supposed to be served with a straw, because drinking it through a straw causes less harm to your teeth than drinking it straight from the glass.
My dentist would be applauding you Ms. ellie!
Yes, the teeth.
Do they have teeth in the south? Oh...
Maybe the hot weather makes a nice cold shlurp feel better in the south. People up north chatter their teeth too much to be able to drink straight from a glass. The shivering makes everything spill all over, and that just makes it worse. I had to buy an electric straw for $29 just to keep warm.
Straws, the South, and Sophistication.
Some would say are mutually exclusive.
Straws annoy me. I get one served in the iced tea glass and jerk it out, taking great effort to sling tea droplets on the server. :wink: (wink emoticon added on edit to convey non-seriousness)
I think they are contributing to the excessive waste generated by our society.
Them, and coffee stirrers.
Thanks for the amusing responses. And welcome, Ellie. 3 posts in four months?! That's, um, remarkable.
Anyway, my theory is that the straw was invented so that women wouldn't smear their lipstick.
Visitor wrote:Another interesting question...why is it that soft drinks (pop, soda, cokes, etc.) are always served with straws in the northern U.S., but never in the South?
Not only in the northern states of the USA, in Israel the same trend exists. But I usually put the straw aside and drink just from the glass (if this is not a cocktail, of course, but I almost do not drink alcohol).
PDiddie wrote:I get one served in the iced tea glass and jerk it out, taking great effort to sling tea droplets on the server.
If you are not kidding, then, I am not sure that such a thing could be called ethical. There are rules of service in each restaurant defined by its managers, and waiters follow these, just to comply with requirements of their workplace. They do not deserve such a treatment.
That's a nice thought, rjb...and you're right, it doesn't smear the lipstick so badly.
BTW, I'm talking about restaurants here, not fast food places.
steissd, they served soft drinks to me with straws in France and Italy, too, as I remember. Same thing happens with iced tea, too. (In the southern U.S., we order iced tea by the pitcher.)
Hi, Steissd: I've seen your postings many times but I have never met you on a topic of mutual interest. I'm amazed and amused at the number of responses to something as stupid as a straw could be. Pdiddie edited his/her response about "the server." Have you worked in that industry?
I was with the US Army in Vietnam and I also worked as a waiter in several countries. If I had the authority to sentence an enemy (assuming I had one) I would put that person in the latter category.
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