A brief history of the drinking straw, part 1: From Sumer to Stone

Drinking straws have a history. A long one. Natural straws were used by beer-drinking Sumerians 5000-700 years ago as filters for solid particulate byproducts of fermentation. The grass-stem straw reigned until 120 years ago this month, when Marvin Stone patented a process for manufacturing spiral-wound tubes.

Marvin C. Stone, US Patent No. 375692

The material was paper, with a small amount of adhesive at one end that secured the straw around the mold, initially a pencil. The straw was then removed from the mold and dipped in paraffin; this hermetically sealed and further strengthened the straw.

Stone didn’t rest with one advancement in straw technology. In 1896 he patented a new design for artificial straws, one that more closely resembled the natural straw in bore size, and it’s double-bore design is reminiscent of today’s hot straws.

Marvin C. Stone, US Patent No. 585058

Although details are sketchy, Stone Straw Company (now Stone Straw, Ltd) was founded around the turn of the 20th century. In 1906, the company invented a machine that automated the the manufacture of spiral-wound straws. (Figure below is from a 1916 filing.)

Lewis C. Maltby, US Patent No. 1252284

In 1940, Stone Straw Co. was still using the same spirally-wound manufacturing process invented 50 years earlier. There was some technological progress, such as the angularly-bent straw, replacing the relatively unsanitary and cut-inducing glass tubes used in soda fountains, but it’s clear that the basic straw-creation process was essentially unchanged.

Sidney T. Maltby, US Patent No. 2316700

Stay tuned for Part 2.