I see. So you're telling me this is not a straw and those are not boba balls?

I don't even cup it just drink straight from the stream.

Diogenes would be proud.

No, I do that a lot. Lol

You mean hose right?

Please don't do that. A lot of garden hoses are made of junk plastic, which leaches along with metals into the water.

Found the Gen X-er. Good day to you, my fellow hose-water connoisseur.

They aren't gluten free, so not very inclusive

Bucatini? I can grab that at my local grocer

The lead ones are more expensive but improve the flavor of most beverages.

Just open wider, ice is a nice crunchy treat!

As a person with skin surrounding his skull, I don't really get why that's an issue.

Skill issue. Just stick your lips out further.

Plus they help keep your mustache dry!

The odd time I end up eating fast food and getting a paper straw, it's the fact that it goes mushy before I finish my drink. I think that's the texture issue people are talking about.

Not all autism are the same, some with autism will hyperfix on the environment and not give a shit about the texture, like me.

my autistic ass

your ass has autism?

I think they've gotten better, or the ones a lot of people are familiar with are just kinda miserable. I'm most familiar with the ones from when I worked at Disney's Animal Kingdom like fifteen years ago. They were texturally kinda strange and would get mushy at the top partway through an American-sized soda. They used those straws because the regular plastic ones could have been harmful to some of the animals in the park and I was lead to believe that those straws were pretty common in zoos in general.

Not neurotypical, but yes, I do chew on them.

I ended up going with silicone straws in my household. Mine open up down the side so you can run your finger up them for easy cleaning.

The metal and hard plastic ones suck for chewing on.

do you chew on them, or what?

Maybe... Is it that weird?

I always chewed on pens in school too. Hmm.

My only problem with them is you need a spare.

That and why is there still a plastic lid, and I dont think that the cup is recyclable due to the coating.

And I just hate every straw because they change the texture of the bubbles, which I realize it's a very autistic thing to say

I don'5 really understand complains about paper straws, i never had problems with them!

Surely you can't be serious

Thank you for this perspective because I'm one of those who never saw the appeal to straws.

I just wanna say that paper straws are lined with PFAS and similar substances, I would NOT use them at all. Mark my words they'll be banned in the EU in 20 years.

I'd rather try a pasta straw, if the metal ones are not viable. If using plastic, prefer a more rigid plastic if possible, Policarbonate (like in a Nalgene bottle) is safer than Polyethylene; or at least I would avoid them with hot drinks.

I hate that restaurants will give me (non bendy) straws even when I specifically ask to not get a straw.

It might sound silly, but sippy cups are also an option. You can lift and drink from the cup without spilling that way

I feel like this might be an American problem

Fast Food Nation, the paper/plastic cups are flimsy and need a lid for structure.

We get so used to it that when we eat out, we want straws.

I've never really cared. IF they bring wrapped straws, i'll generally not open it and stash it in my car for the next time a fast food straw breaks. If it's open, I use it because it seems more of a waste to throw it away unused.

There probably is some decent point to the server groping all over the outside of your glass or the dishwasher handling it, but i'm not really a germophobe.

I'm unsure how much benefit reusable straws really are because at a restaurant, they're probably gonna give you straws anyways and I don't think they'd put unused ones back in the box, especially post covid.

If you want like a mixed drink or a pop out of a glass while lying on the couch or in bed a straw is useful too, thats the only time i ever use them. My fiance likes a ton of ice in everything she drinks so she uses our metal straws for everything. I still prefer drinking out a can or a bottle with a screw on cap for most things when im lying down.

I would probably break them in a way or another

I'd be worried about breaking them if I take them places. Do they hold up well?

We have silicone ones but I don't like them as they retain the taste of washing up liquid on them

Not sure how up to date this is, but synthetic fibers are the #1 source of micro plastics, followed by car tires and city dust. Car tires are absolutely a contributor and we should cut our reliance on personal transportation for more reasons than just micro plastics. In addition, we need to move away from polyester, nylon and a slew of other materials.

Most household furnishings used to be made of natural fibers. These days carpets, couch covers and filling, curtains, clothing, etc are often derived from a petrochemical. I suspect oil companies will continue to pivot into these areas to continue as we very slowly ween ourselves of gasoline.