“Sir, this is a sperm bank”
I see. So you’re telling me this is not a straw and those are not boba balls?
it’s weird how presumably neurotypical people complain about paper straws feeling weird, but my autistic ass couldn’t give less of a shit about their texture.
do you chew on them, or what?
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.
that takes like half an hour though, and affects the bottom end.
Depends on the straw, there are some pretty bad ones and done decent ones
The ones I’ve used have gone mushy in half that time
Out of curiosity, what businesses are you getting these straws from? The few times I got a paper straw I didn’t really notice an issue other than the texture on my lips. I wonder if those companies are just skipping on the quality. The good paper straws probably cost more than the plastic ones right now and I’d bet their trying to meet the same margins, or tighter.
McDonald’s, Burger King, Hesburger
Skill issue either way
Drink faster noobs
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Great straw if you need to change the way you drink to use them
The really bad experiences I’ve had with straws is at movie theatres. In that case you’re given a pretty big drink in a flimsy cup, and you’re slowly drinking it over a couple of hours.
There’s no way that the paper straw holds up in those circumstances. You also don’t want to drink without the straw, because the cup is so flimsy that if you try to drink from it like a regular cup/glass it’s likely to collapse. I have permanent metal / rubber straws at home, but of course I never remember to bring them with me when I go to a movie, since I only go a couple of times a year.
The only solution I’ve found is to take 3-4 paper straws with me, and change them out over the course of the movie.
Fast food implies fast drink, you’re not supposed to let it soak in there like it’s a hot tub.
I think it’s called fast food because it’s delivered to you quickly, not because you’re supposed to shove it down your gullet fast…
Lies!
I mean it’s both, it was supposed to be something you can get on a short lunch break
Yes, because nobody ever took their drink to go after finishing their meal.
They have free refills
my autistic ass
your ass has autism?
Asstism if you will.
I’ve heard of ass burgers before…
Even if it does, straws are not really meant for it anyways.
It used to be ass burgers, but they redefined the ass spectrum.
Idk about you but my ass has burgers
Not all autism are the same, some with autism will hyperfix on the environment and not give a shit about the texture, like me.
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.
I think there was only one time that I had a paper straw and thought that it was good enough. But it felt… expensive? In my mouth. Like you could tell they hated to have to shell out for that. Just to have straws that are possibly as acceptable replacement.
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.
We have metal ones with a silicone nib on the end. Perfect for chewing on.
do you chew on them, or what?
Maybe… Is it that weird?
I always chewed on pens in school too. Hmm.
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
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.
I don’5 really understand complains about paper straws, i never had problems with them!
:3
Also there is the nice bonus that after drinking i can chew them while i walk to the trash can
I guess you could say I use a reusable straw
Please don’t do that. A lot of garden hoses are made of junk plastic, which leaches along with metals into the water.
Those are flavor crystals
Could that be mostly alleviated by running it for half a minute before drinking?
Earwigs came out of mine once, so I always wait for those to stop coming out.
The brand on that hose is more expensive. https://www.eleyhosereels.com/collections/garden-hoses/products/5-8-polyurethane-garden-hose
Found the Gen X-er. Good day to you, my fellow hose-water connoisseur.
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Am I the only one still cupping my hand under the tap?
I don’t even cup it just drink straight from the stream.
May not be the most practical, but I do find this the most satisfying way to drink water
I usually swallow a lot air doing this
Oh yeah, with an aerated faucet I end up having to burp after, but feeling the cool water run down both my throat and chin is very satisfying
SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP SLORP
Diogenes would be proud.
No, I do that a lot. Lol
You mean hose right?
You mean prehistoric mountain stream, right?
Remember when people lost it because disabled people wouldn’t be able to drink again and then they all died of dehydration after these draconian straw laws severely impacted my day
I remember when disability rights groups pointed out that these laws were placing extra burden on disabled people that weren’t being put on everyone else.
These laws accomplish nothing except make liberals feel good that they actually passed some kind of environmental rules. Meanwhile, conservatives are making sure they can legally torture gay kids, let billionaires get away with pedophilia, and burn lots and lots of coal. But we passed straw bans in a couple of cities. Yay us.
You know that governments can focus on multiple problems at once, right?
Yes, and they surround themselves with enough menial nothing-problems to convince you they’re too busy to focus on frivolous things like “human rights” and “the fascist problem.”
This does not convince me that we should redirect all effort away from environmental legislation. In my view human rights are very much intertwined with environmental stewardship.
I agree. So why are we stagnating between fascism and neoliberalism? Neither of those are stewards of either human rights, nor environmentalism. One of the two works very hard to convince you otherwise while stuffing their pockets full of petroldollars.
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Laws related to plastic straws are like the only environmental legislation that’s been passed recently (aside from the Inflation Reduction Act’s various environmental policies which hell yeah) which is what they’re getting at. Democrats are only able to pass the tiniest of laws to reduce environmental impact and Republicans are out here actively trying to genocide queer and brown people.
If democrats were just 20% as aggressive as republicans at actually passing policy to advance their agendas this country would be in a far different place. There’s a reason prominent democratic representatives have been talking about how much their constituents are demanding they actually take action and do something, it’s because they haven’t been doing much for the last 20+ years.
The Fight For 15 has been going on so long that the $15 minimum wage they’ve been demanding is now worth the same as the current federal minimum wage ($7.25/hr) was when The Fight For 15 first started! The fact that they couldn’t even raise the federal minimum wage to match inflation when they had a majority in all branches of government 5 years ago speaks volumes
If we had politicians in power who actually cared about the environment, we’d have personal vehicle weight limits, all EV new car sales, remote work incentives, ebike and public transit incentives, solar panels on every roof, single use plastic ban, strict emissions limits for industries, a carbon trading system to further financially encourage lower carbon business practices, strict ewaste controls to route working systems back into service that otherwise get junked, etc. Etc. instead all we have is gestures at everything
Just to point out tho, liberals have had a trifecta for two 2-year periods out of the last 25, while I do think they could have been a lot more aggressive during that time (especially “let’s compromise on that Obama”) but it’s not like they’ve had 12 years of real control and did nothing.
That is however assuming they need a trifecta to pass legislation, and that they can only pass effective climate legislation at the federal level. Again this is something republicans have mastered, they take every boring race at every state they can and dig in and try to fuck shit up to advance their shitty agenda. Some states and cities have been relatively aggressive about this, such as California, Oregon and New York, but ultimately they could go further
Democrats aren’t dreaming big. They aren’t rallying around a noble but difficult to achieve cause like Republicans rallied around banning abortion for the last half century. Like I get it, they also aren’t doing as much blatant saying one thing publicly then passing legislation to do the opposite, and their causes aren’t about making everything more expensive for consumers and enriching large businesses, but god damnit I want to see people start trying to actually make a better world and dream big and make big changes to achieve that
They kind of did need a trifecta because the GOP made their #1 priority to stop literally everything Dems wanted to do, whether they agreed with it or not.
That’s true, I kinda blocked that period out of my memory
How often did Republicans get a trifecta in the same time period? How does their policy agenda successes compare?
The right took every small victory they can get and used that momentum to catapult to the next until there was enough momentum to make large changes.
The left had lots of victory’s that they then spent the following weeks arguing why those were actually losses
What do you call a “victory” that took a lot of political capital and then accomplished basically nothing?
What did the straw ban do? It’s certainly not reducing waste on its own in any significant way; if every single plastic straw was banned worldwide, its impact would still be tiny in comparison to the overall problem. There was a argument that it would get people to start thinking about how much waste is in their lives. That was six or seven years ago. None of that has come to pass, and I’d argue that it was obviously speculative even before anything took effect.
You can’t change anything that matters with this nickel and dime policy shit. It is not even worth the effort to push it.
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You know that US liberals have shitty success stories about anything anywhere in the last two decades, right?
That doesn’t have any relevance to my point.
Sure it does. If government can focus on more than one thing, but there are limited success stories, what does that tell us?
Well yeah, their base keeps alienating themselves from their own party and not voting for anything outside of clicking with each other in parks.
Modern leftist are historically one of the most ineffective head up their own ass groups that ever existed.
Anyone remember that time they convinced millions to stand in a street. Nothing came of it. But they did it. They are so proud they did it. Good times. Maybe they’ll do it again in a year or two. That’s what progress is all about
Right, so you also don’t know how peaceful protest works as a strategy.
The color red stops cars.
This would be a type of peaceful protest. Doesn’t mean it’s the most effective or useful form of peaceful protests. A 100 year old unchanged protest isn’t really effecting in modern times. Maybe before television was a thing.
Yay!! 🙌
I mean it would actually impact my ability to hydrate certain patients under certain circumstances if there really ever 0 plastic straws anywhere ever.
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What happened to those Italian pasta straws? They looked promising.
They aren’t gluten free, so not very inclusive
There are those made with rice tho. But also expensive.
How about bamboo?
Wow, that’s new to me.
And thats why I have metal straws (plus I got them for free)
Bucatini? I can grab that at my local grocer
$20 metal straw? I think all the metal ones I have were about .25
The lead ones are more expensive but improve the flavor of most beverages.
I only accept Uranium straws :3
Ahh, a true man (or woman) of culture.
Great tip, I love sweetened drinks!
Straws are to prevent ice from sliding into your face
Skill issue. Just stick your lips out further.
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.
Mah lips be hurting from the big chill
Plus they help keep your mustache dry!
Here in the house we have re-usable, washable plastic straws.
Out and about I’ll use the disposable straws because the whole turtle-death thing was over-exaggerated. (Microplastics from automotive tires are killing us, though. There are real great filters to be navigated)
I also just don’t eat out much, especially since the 2020 lockdown.
We have silicone ones but I don’t like them as they retain the taste of washing up liquid on them
You can release some of the stuck on flavors from silicone by heating it in the oven to 250°F/120°C for 20-30 minutes.
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.
This raises a big question of what the heck comprises city dust. Is there a microplastic element to concrete or asphalt? Is it just more tire deterioration? City dust is a conspicuously vague category.
Me a failed intellectual
Surely you can’t be serious
Shirley is always serious.
Please don’t call him that. It isn’t his preferred name
I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.
(Sorry, someone had to do it correctly)
the only “straws” i use now are the built-in straws on my water bottles. when dad was dying, he had drop-neck and bendy straws let him drink on his own. something about both being a straw and at whatever angle he needed for his mouth, since he rarely stood or sat entirely upright. he could not drink directly from a glass without burying his nose in it or spilling half of it. for me it’s not one of those “hey, now that this effects me” bullshits, it’s more “hey, now that i understand how necessary they are in specific contexts” bullshits.
if they can make a corn or paper bendy straw that functions properly, i’m all for it. until then, there are much bigger and better things to worry about than straws.
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
No, no they aren’t.
Iced drink tend to taste better with straw tbh, sipping from the cup mean you’re taking in watered down stuff, and also tiny ice or ice blocking the flow of the drinks.
I feel like this might be an American problem, with straws being more necessary for drinking in cars, which are all too common there.
I rarely drive and basically never drink out of a straw, there’s just no point when you can drink directly out of the cup.
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.
The only thing that comes with a straw in the restaurants I visit, is cocktails.
Nearly every restaurant I go togives straws with your drinks, including water
Your comment made me realize that used to be the same for me, but it’s been years since the last time I remember being given a straw. I guess they’re phasing them out
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 bought a 4-pk of glass straws for €5 and they are awesome. The rounded edge feels smooth on the tongue/lips and drinks taste better through glass than metal.
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?
The ones I’ve handled and bought are more robust than most other glassware. They can break if dropped on hard floor, but that’s normal for anything out of glass.
Can confirm, they are durable. For clumsiness context, I broke some similarly sized vaporizer glassware the other day. Yet these straws have held up being thrown around in a sink full of dirty dishes.
Funny enough, the same day I asked, my wife got one in a cool jar cup she bought. Guess I get to try one out.
Of the 4, only one has gotten scratched to the point that I recycled it (manufacturing error methinks), but the other 3 are holding up well. I’ve had them for a little over a year. They seem durable enough.
After reading about that lady who died because she fell on a metal straw and impaled her eye and brain I threw away my metal straws.
Understandable, but thats a bit of an overreaction don’t you think?
Yeah that could happen with a fork, or a toothbrush, or really anything that size if you land on it hard enough
You don’t typically walk around with those in your mouth, especially outside your home
You typically walk around with a straw in your mouth?
Yeah if I’m drinking something on the go
I normally just use a reusable metal waterbottle, no straw required. Although sometimes I just drink it enough that it has less risk of spilling in an open cup, even in a vehicle
I also carry a water bottle with me but I can’t exactly go to the coffee shop and ask them to pour my latte into my bottle
As a kid I had to go to hospital because I ran around with a toothbrush in my mouth and fell on it
