# I don't like drinking through straws **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334 "2005-04-02T00:36:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/1 "2005-04-02T00:36:40Z")
I went out to a restaurant, and as most restaurants do, they bring my drink with a straw in it. Maybe I’m eating at the wrong kind of restaurants, but every restaurant seems to bring me one. I looked around, and noticed that everyone else is drinking their drinks with a straw. Am I the only person on earth who dislikes drinking throug a straw? I will drink through a straw if I’m eating fast food, but these are sit-down restaurants. When did it become standard to bring a straw to every patron? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/2 "2005-04-02T00:39:45Z")
AFAIK, it is standard to bring a straw for every drink. However, _everybody knows_ that real men don’t drink through straws. It just looks so uncool. If I went out with a man that drank through a straw, I’d seriously have to question his masculinity. ---
**Author:** ![bclouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@bclouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bclouse)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/3 "2005-04-02T00:40:41Z")
It wasn’t wine was it? That wouldn’t be very classy, no. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/4 "2005-04-02T01:21:03Z")
I don’t like straws either. Especially not for soda cans. They already have that nice big opening and the little edge, so you can drink _right from the can_! People who walk around with straws in their Coke cans are weird. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/5 "2005-04-02T02:26:51Z")
I don’t use straws. I think they make soda taste funny. Maybe siphoning through a straw makes it flat. StG ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/6 "2005-04-02T02:29:35Z")
But straws are neat. I especially like twirly crazy straws, though I don’t drink from them in public. My mom is worried about germs and she won’t drink straight from a glass anywhere but at home. She uses straws at restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![rewindforward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f19dbf/32.png) [@rewindforward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rewindforward)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/7 "2005-04-02T02:32:24Z")
usually women drink soda cans with straws… the only time I might is like mcdonalds burgerking those type of fountain drinks with the bigger straws… the little straws are for sissies… so no don’t sit there settling for the deal… lol… :wally lol… is that how u use them smileys? > [@mike1dog](#): > > I went out to a restaurant, and as most restaurants do, they bring my drink with a straw in it. Maybe I’m eating at the wrong kind of restaurants, but every restaurant seems to bring me one. I looked around, and noticed that everyone else is drinking their drinks with a straw. > Am I the only person on earth who dislikes drinking throug a straw? I will drink through a straw if I’m eating fast food, but these are sit-down restaurants. When did it become standard to bring a straw to every patron? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/8 "2005-04-02T02:32:26Z")
I don’t like straws either. I have a collection of McDonald’s and Wendy’s straws on the passenger side floor of my car if anybody wants 'em. I also figure if I’m afraid the glass in a restaurant isn’t clean, I shouldn’t be eating there anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/9 "2005-04-02T02:42:35Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > I don’t like straws either. I have a collection of McDonald’s and Wendy’s straws on the passenger side floor of my car if anybody wants 'em. > > I also figure if I’m afraid the glass in a restaurant isn’t clean, I shouldn’t be eating there anyway. That’s what I tell my mother. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/10 "2005-04-02T02:47:39Z")
I’m gonna go pro-straw. Most restaurants, especially fast food types, use crushed or shaved ice (both of which I hate). When I try to drink straight from the cup or glass, an ice dam forms sending waves of drink cascading over my face or I end up choking on shards of ice that wedge themselves in my throat. Also, it’s easier to drink a milkshake with a straw. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/11 "2005-04-02T03:22:10Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > I especially like twirly crazy straws. Oh but those don’t count. They’re a whole special breed of straw, and are perfectly acceptable. Especially when drinking crazy blue kool-aid or something, and watching the color swirl around… I’m buying one tomorrow, and I will walk around drinking in public with it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/12 "2005-04-02T03:26:16Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Oh but those don’t count. They’re a whole special breed of straw, and are perfectly acceptable. Especially when drinking crazy blue kool-aid or something, and watching the color swirl around… > > I’m buying one tomorrow, and I will walk around drinking in public with it. 🙂 Yay! I bought a pack of ten, in different colors, and promptly gave one to each of my roommates. My preference is for purple. It’s just a twisted length of plastic like a slightly stretched-out ringlet of hair. It doesn’t fall down in bottled drinks, which is one thing I really like about it. I even drank blue Kool-Aid through it today. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/13 "2005-04-02T03:29:10Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Also, it’s easier to drink a milkshake with a straw. You’re right there. It just has to be big enough to slurp the slivers of strawberry through. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/14 "2005-04-02T03:32:59Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > You’re right there. It just has to be big enough to slurp the slivers of strawberry through. I hate it when they give you a thin straw. It ends up collapsing and you run the risk of caving your skull in. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/15 "2005-04-02T03:36:17Z")
I’m with the OP. I don’t use straws. They give them to me but I don’t use them unless backed into a corner. Life’s too short to use straws. Only once has a waitress (Steak and Ale, Vienna, VA) had the good sense to see a couple of straws next to my place setting and say ‘You’re not using these, are you? I won’t bring any more.’ ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/16 "2005-04-02T03:38:34Z")
Heathens! A straw must accompany every drink. Even water. Even if you’re sitting at home drinking out of one of your own cups. ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/17 "2005-04-02T04:02:45Z")
Straws are a no for me in a restaurant. I can’t stand drinking through one (especially water, which is what I usually order). If I know they are going to bring a straw, I will ask them not to. It saves me the trouble of finding someplace to put it and have it aligned to a compass point or something. Yes, I’m a fiddler. My napkins have to be aligned parallel to the table edges (Og help me at a round table - trig starts going through my head), my glass must rest at a certain point from the plate, and the condiments must be in order. An unused straw just complicates things as far as implement alignment goes. Yeah, definitely one minute to Wapner. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/18 "2005-04-02T13:49:34Z")
One of my college roommate’s environmentalist quirks was that she did not approve of straws–too much waste. On the rare occasions when I went out to eat with her, nobody got a straw. In general I will use a straw if one is provided, but often don’t at fastfood restaurants when eating by myself. And if there is ice in the drink, I like a straw. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/19 "2005-04-02T22:35:54Z")
The only time I use a straw is when I get a soft drink at a fast food place or a convenience store. In restaurants, if my water arrives with a straw, I set it aside. If the servers just set straws on the table, I move them to the edge so the wrappers won’t get wet and they can use them again. If I catch them fast enough, I tell the server I don’t want a straw, but they’re usually on autopilot. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334/20 "2005-04-03T00:21:19Z")
I don’t use a straw for a couple reasons, the most important of which is this - it can cause the same wrinkles as smoking does over time! And I’d rather spend that particular action making smooch-face w/ someone. Them wrinkles’ll be worth it! I always hated putting my mouth around a straw in a sit-down restaurant and tasting something before I even sip; the bartenders typically use unwashed hands to grab a straw from their container and drop it in your drink. eww. And yes, the avoidance of wrinkles IS more important to me than that. I turned 35 last weekend. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-drinking-through-straws/297334.md?page=2)