How the bendy straw was invented | Moments of Vision 12 - Jessica Oreck

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Today, Americans use an estimated 500 million drinking straws every day. But where did the idea for this beloved utensil come from? In the twelfth installment of our ‘Moments of Vision’ series, Jessica Oreck shares the origins of the bendy straw.

Lesson and animation by Jessica Oreck.

In a Moment of Vision...

It's the 1930s, San Francisco.

Joseph B. Friedman
and his young daughter Judith

are sitting at the counter
in a soda parlor.

Judith has just ordered a milkshake.

Vanilla or strawberry, we may never know.

When the milkshake arrives,
Joseph watches as little Judith struggles.

Seated on the parlor stool,

she is unable to reach the mouth
of the striped paper straw

protruding from her shake.

Joseph, in a moment of vision,
modifies Judith's straw.

He inserts a screw into one end,

and using a piece of dental floss,

crushes the paper between the threads
of the screw

creating a series
of tiny equidistant corrugations.

After removing the screw,

the straw is able to bend over the side
of the glass

and Judith is able to savor her milkshake.

Joseph initially markets
the new flexible straw

to hospitals to help patients
drink while reclining,

but eventually, with the marketing
and business savvy from his sister Betty,

the bendy straw becomes a beloved utensil
of every child

and a regular household item.