5 interesting facts about drinking straws

We’ve all used them from time to time to drink hot or cold drinks, but they are much more than simple drinking straws. Today is National Drinking Straw Day in the US so we thought we’d have a look at five interesting facts about drinking straws.

1. The oldest drinking straw was very expensive. Discovered in a Sumerian tomb from roughly 3,000 B.C., the straw was made of gold and the precious stone, lapis lazuli.
2. Bombilla — the multipurpose straw. The Argentines use this special metallic straw to sieve and drink mate tea.
3. Straws are in high demand. In the U.S. alone, up to 500 million drinking straws are used every day.
4. Plastic straws harm marine life. These straws contribute to plastic debris across the globe and destroy several marine ecosystems.
5. Straws recycled into bags. In Uganda, drinking straws are recycled, and the material is woven to make bags.