I havent used any type of straw in quite some time. Plastic or paper.
They do nothing for me and I think they are one of the most pointless disposal food packaging items to exist.
Edit: there are many useful applications for straws I simply didn’t think about when posting this. Thanks for the commenters for pointing this out.
I don’t… like them. Does anybody actively like them? Quick poll, does anybody here pop a can of coke or a glass of water and deliberately go find a straw to put in there?
As far as I can tell straws exist either to drink something too thick to reliably pour out of a glass rim, like a smoothie or a milkshake, or to cirvumvent some limitation, be it accessibility or having to extract liquid from a sealed vessel.
By the same token, who here just brings a large, wobbly paper glass up to their face in a dark movie theatre and tries to repeatedly sip it?
For soft drinks, I would use a straw. Anything else, no. I’m not a fan of how they feel on my teeth and using a straw helps mitigate that.
They’re also a vital part of the bubble tea experience.
I do. I almost never drink something without a straw. But for me, it’s due to medical issues. Straws make my life easier.
I guess I did forget about milkshakes or smoothies. Those do have a solid use case.
Boba? I don’t even know what the “point” would be without a straw tbh
That’s just soup at that point. And to be fair, a boba straw is in the spork continuum anyway.
Bottle of pop. No
Glass of water at a restaurant. Yes
My hands shake and it’s annoying as hell when people stare at me when I’m trying to drink. So I get a straw.
Sure, but then you’re in the accessibility scenario. It’s still a utility thing.
Yeah I guess for boba tea they’re useful. Also if you whiten your teeth and are worried about staining them.