How The World Found Straws Through Marvin Stone's Hands

Straw design in Stone's patent letter (patentimages)

JAKARTA - In addition to helping people to sip drinks, straws are useful for reducing tooth decay, because for example, when drinking carbonated drinks, the straw will help flow the drink directly down the esophagus without hitting the teeth. All that pleasure we might not be able to feel if only Marvin C Stone had not developed a tool called the straw.

Reporting from Witty Feed, the first straw was invented when used for drinks in bars. Most likely, the straw was used to avoid various fermented deposits at the bottom of the drink. However, the old straws were made of grass, including rye grass. These natural straws are cheap, but unfortunately they spoil quickly and are annoying, which changes the taste of the drink.

Until finally Marvin Stone, who was drinking a mint julep cocktail in Washington DC, United States, felt embarrassed because the straw he used made his drink taste musty and quickly spoiled while being drunk. From there he finally got the inspiration to make a straw out of paper.

As quoted by The Washington Post, Stone's idea at that time was to wrap paper on a pencil in a spiral. Then the windings are glued together with paraffin wax. After gluing, the pencil is then slowly removed so that it forms a cavity in the paper that was wrapped around earlier.

Marvin Stone (Commons Wikimedia)

He then brought his handicrafts to his favorite tavern, namely a bar on Ninth Street NW, and asked the shop owner to save it. From there, many people started looking for a straw made by Stone.

Stone then rushed to patent his findings. On May 11, 1887 Stone filed a patent for his straw. A year later or today, January 3, more than a century ago, Stone got his patent in Washington, USA.

"Know that I, Marvin C. Stone, of the District of Columbia, Washington, have discovered the development of artificial straws," Stone said in his patent application letter.

Stone explained that the aim of the invention was to provide a natural straw substitute that could be used not only for drinks but also for medical use. "Providing a cheaper, more durable substitute for (straws)," he wrote.

Swerve

By the 1890s, Stone had set up a factory on Ninth Street NW near Pennsylvania Avenue and employed hundreds of employees. Stone seems to be a good-hearted boss, because as the ambassador of The Evening Star in 1891, the employees of Stone Straw - the name of the Stone straw company - are treated more than just manual labor, their personal comfort and well-being are also maintained.

In addition, he also provides a large room in his factory and is equipped with a piano, for his employees to dance and sing during lunch. There is also provided a special library for Stone Straw employees.

Before becoming the boss of artificial straws, Stone was previously a manufacturer of cigarette packs. In a day he can produce one million packs of cigarettes which he supplies to the Duke tobacco tobacco company. But as Stone Straw grew more and more, Marvin Stone produced more straws than cigarette packs.

Stone Straw was transformed into a company that continues to grow. Apart from straws, they also produce lollipop sticks, paper containers for chemicals, and all kinds of other necessities. By 1956, the Stone factory on Franklin Street was producing 8 million straws per day.

There are so many artificial straws that become a disaster because they pollute the environment, especially the sea. Then, with the increasing number of straws nowadays, should we go back to using natural straws from the ryegrass grass type?