Are straws an unnecessary (but convenient) invention?

DragonWasabi@monyet.cc to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 75 points –

People often talk about swapping out plastic straws for other materials to help the ocean/fish and the environment, but they also complain about paper straws falling apart easily. Other alternatives that are slightly more sturdy like straws made of straw don't seem very common.

But do we even need straws? My first reaction was that any liquid can be drunk directly from the vessel it's in, and straws just add another level of convenience. If we don't want to use plastic straws and the alternatives mostly suck (actually all straws suck 🤓), why not just ditch straws entirely?

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In Germany plastic straws are forbidden these days. There's straws made of metal or wood still. Can't comment on the larger question tho. I've never used straws to begin with.

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