People bitch and moan about straws. But this thought occurred to me recently, why don’t they offer reusable ones instead and just wash it with other tableware?
My impression is that at least in Germany it’s very rare to get a straw in a restaurant at all. It’s usually fast food places, bars and clubs where straws seem to be a thing, and these places usually don’t offer metal cutlery.
Agreed, and it’s because they don’t serve drinks with ice - I witnessed this pretty much everywhere from Amsterdam to Finland. I asked one person why and was told no one wants their expensive drinks to get watered down. At the time, a fountain drink was at least double the expected price in the states. No ice, no need for a straw?
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They are a fucking pain in the ass to clean. Dishwashers leave a ton of shit.
Don’t mock me, but… Why are people so obsessed with straws? I can’t even remember when I used it the last time. If I want to drink a beverage, I just use glass or cup as it is.
Boba teas suck without straws. accessibility issues as well. Mixed drinks are pretty good with straws (all the ice, and if it needs to be mixed using a straw serves a dual purpose).
To expand on accessibility, some people have neuromuscular issues that make drinking from a cup difficult. Some people have sensory issues that have the same end result. Straws help these people.
why not just have those people bring their own straws then?
Saves Valuable Time at High Labor Costs
I’m sorry. What?
For me personally, I used to have really bad heartburn until I started using straws pretty much exclusively. Rarely do I get heartburn anymore and I also don’t belch as much either, which I was doing a lot of as well.
I do use metal or glass straws exclusively though, even in the car I have some in a case in the cubby so I don’t have to use those awful paper straws if I am ever forced to grab food in the car.
I’m with you on this. Just STOP using straws, they’re almost always unnecessary.
I don’t use straws because I’m all growed up.
Hawaii has straws already figured out. They feel and work like regular ass straws, yet they are biodegradable and made from Papayai i think. Every restaurant and vendor i came across used them. Idk why it hasnt spread to the mainland.
There’s a lot of interesting alternatives like that right now but they all have the same issue: Scale.
Providing a McDonald’s quantity of straws requires a HUGE supply chain.
True, but every place i went to on all of the islands out there had the straws, as well as the disposable silverware of the same material. 1.4 million people live there and like 10 million tourists visit each year. Most of those tourists are eating our every meal. The cruise ships all have them. It seemed at a decent scale, i think its finna scale bro
McDonald’s is an absurdly large scale. Google says 69 million customers per day. Most companies can’t provide that many straws. It’s also the reason things like the McRib are limited time, there aren’t enough pork trimmings to consistently supply them at a reasonable price point.
For sure they are silly big. They wouldn’t need to convert all of their branches at the same time though. Primarily focus it around coasts and waterways, convert bit by bit as needed. They won’t convert unless it is cheaper or required by regulation
I’ve never used an ass straw, is it very different to just using your tongue?
It’s actually a retrofitted beer bong. Using it requires a handstand and a handful of close friends willing to help.
Your missing out bro
I used to work in a place that used bioplastic straws made from agave fibers. They’re here already.
I think straws are harder to clean properly. All other utensils are outside surfaces only. If some one has food stuck inside one the restaurant is probably not going to want to manually put a cleaner inside every one to be sure. A small chance some customer is going to get one with food still in it… I don’t mind the paper ones that don’t go soggy right away. At home I use metal or silicone ones. Like the silicone ones!
They’re tough to clean quickly
You could just learn to drink like a grown up.
It’s an accessibility thing. Some people struggle without a straw (elderly, disabled, etc). Straws are also convenient if you’re wearing lipstick.
That’s such a simple thing for people with mobility problems to solve for themselves.
If straws are a requirement then carry your own straws. Then you can choose the material.
Then I’ll have to get it without ice, my teeth are pretty sensitive
Why is “with ice” the default option for drinks in the US? For beverages, the restaurant is saving money, but for water?
Because its cold and refreshing? Ice water stays cold longer than not ice water.
Water is best served at a bit below room temperature (maybe 50° F/10° C). I don’t want my teeth hurting and my throat frozen. Also, waiters should be good around and refilling water glasses, not dropping off my food and GTFO until I am done eating.
ice is twice as nice
I commented on another thread about McDonald’s, in France they stopped giving out straws and just printed on the cup “To drink, remove lid and lift cup, you’re not an infant”
First comment underneath it was “What about people with mobility problems”
Shut the fuck up bitch
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You can do that with a metal knife too.
What alcoholic drink uses a metal knife?
Nothing yet because so far all the drinks are a bunch of poser drinks. I’m going to invent some true metal drinks that will fuck everything up and be totally real! And if some emo tries to order it they just get a punch in the face!
I do not recommend putting knives in your mouth when you’re drunk.
Even when you’re sober. I accidentally filed down one of my canines that way.
My guess is cleaning a lot of them effectively would take too much time.
They should develop metal syringes to directly inject the fluids into the body
I worked as a dishwasher at Cracker Barrel for a summer, and just getting the utensils clean was a challenge on a busy day. Metal straws used at scale would need specialized washing equipment that can handle a kid shoving it full of pork chops and mashed potatoes.
They would make it if there was demand, but that won’t happen without forced adoption of the metal straws in the first place.
I’m sure the hygiene issues would overshadow the reusability issue. Folks won’t be happy the first time they get a chunk of somebody else’s dinner when they take a sip of their drink. People abuse dishes in restaurants in very creative ways.
Glass straws might be better, if only because you can see anything that’s lodged inside.
The places that use straws are the same places that don’t offer cutlery or even plates.
Actual restaurants that have plates and cutlery also have glasses that don’t require a straw.
The only reason a straw is necessary in a restaurant in the first place is because customers don’t want to drink from a disposable cardboard cup.
I have seen some fastfood restaurants offering plastic cups instead. They can wash those easily.
Drive through is a different thing altogether, and you’re probably better off with a can or bottle in that case.
The idea to serve beverages in a cardboard cup so uncomfortable that you need a straw and then need a plastic cover to keep the beverage in the cup is fucking stupid considering that they could just serve a bottled beverage instead.
Well… a lot of female patrons want a straw so they don’t mess up their lipstick, even at fancier places.
For many of the same reasons they aren’t a suitable alternative for those who need straws, either (though a restaurant owner will be making the decision based on cost rather than accessibility).
The real issue is that people still (or ever) bitch and moan about straws, since they were never really a problem, just a distraction from those actually destroying the environment…
I feel like those “reasons” are very exaggerated. How many people are allergic to stainless steel? How is metal not safe in hot beverages? If it’s burning due to heat, the liquid will do that on its own. How are biodegradable straws any more if a choking hazard? There are so many questionable judgements in that list. At the very least, it isn’t nearly that binary.
Metal conducts heat more readily than water. Odd as it may sound, metal stuck into a hot beverage will burn your mouth/lips more readily than the liquid itself.
But the liquid is still dangerously hot. And maybe if you are too disabled to safely drink from a mug, scalding hot beverages are not a great idea, anyway.
And you didn’t respond to anything else. How many people are actually allergic to metal straws that just touching them is enough?
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I feel like people trying to “poke holes” in the needs of disabled people they clearly haven’t taken even a minute to research (never mind considered the fact you don’t know everything, and you not knowing something doesn’t make it somehow wrong or invalid) are wilfully ignorant ableists (E: and your next reply confirms it. You don’t get to decide who is or isn’t “too disabled” to do anything, ableist)
If staws wouldn’t exist, my life would be exactly the same.
unpleasant mouthfeel?
I think a good plastic would be better. Something unnaturally durable like PEX
