Hahahaa!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who does things like this.

I recently purchased some metal straws. I use a yeti mug w/a lid for my ice tea, and prefer to use a straw in it. These metal ones are narrower than a plastic straw, and have taken some getting used to. But I'm getting there!

Someone told me there is even a collapsible straw which will fit in your purse, metal I guess.

Living in California servers are supposed to give out single use straws only if the customer requests one. The servers are not allowed to offer one. Most are still asking but under the crazy law they really shouldn't be. The whole issue is a joke. Many tried to go to "greener" straws but several I know of went back to plastic due to customer complaints. The paper ones disintegrate and the bamboo etc. lend a brackish flavor to the beverage.

I bought a box of individually wrapped plastic straws to keep a few of in my vehicle for when I can't get one. or am given one of those brackish tasting replacements.

Have you tried the " new" straws Subway are passing off?

Cardboard and totally gross long before one finishes their drink.

Hubs generally doesn’t use a straw for anything other than a milkshake from In-N-Out, but I like using a straw with beverages (other than wine) in restaurants. Hubs bought me a metal straw from Sand Cloud that I keep in my purse so I have it with me when we go out. It even has a little carrying pouch and cleaning brush.

I don't use straws (never have) so these bans don't affect me. Sister does use them and bought a package of bamboo straws a while back. If the subject comes up when she visits in October, I'll ask her if she's noticed a funky taste.

I too never use a straw.

I don't mind the paper straws. I've never had them go soggy.

In a restaurant, I ask them not to put a straw in my water. I'm capable of drinking it out of the glass. And I agree about the paper ones dissolving into mush.

When I'm doing my job at home, I have a glass of water that I refill out of my water bottle, and an insulated cup with a lid, that I sip my water-kefir from. That's where I use the bendy straw. It's also the cup that I keep hitting the roof of my mouth with the straw that came with it. So no metal straws for me. I sip drinks all the time during my shift.

I bought some metal straws a few weeks ago, and some metal and silicone ones online. The metal/silicone ones were advertised on Facebook so I took a chance. I received four of them with a little bag to put them in my purse. A lot of places are using paper straws and I just cannot put paper in my mouth. The metal straws (I bought at Winners Canada [it's like Marshalls}). No more plastic straws in our house as they cannot be recycled and will be in a garbage dump for 1000's of years.

I also don't use straws, but I did as a child.

The rigid straws can really hurt if you’re not careful with them. I’ve jabbed my pallet and clonked my front tooth more than once.

Hmmmph. Can’t correct the autocorrect. Palate.

The problem with straws is that you swallow a lot of air. that is what nurses tell you in the hospital. That was the only place I needed one and they would not let me have one.

I hardly ever used straws, but with my Parkinson's tremors getting worse I am thinking of getting a metal one. I only worry about cleaning it. I guess you can put them in the dishwasher. Better to use a straw than spill the drink all down the front, like I have done. I hate asking for one in restaurants and getting looks.

Caflower, I know someone that has to use a straw due to hand tremors. This person shut up a "straw shamer" by asking them if they would like to sit next to him when he spills his drink so it can land on them.

caflowerluver - If you purchase a metal or silicone straw online, most come with a cleaning brush and a carry pouch (to keep the straw and brush clean in your purse).

People with essential tremor can need them as well.

Does anybody remember when drinking straws really were straws (mainly wheat)? I do.

I doubt that a silicone or metal straw placed into a dishwasher would be properly washed. The shafts are too long and too narrow for spinning streams of water to reach the whole way through.

"I doubt that a silicone or metal straw placed into a dishwasher would be properly washed. The shafts are too long and too narrow for spinning streams of water to reach the whole way through."

Yes, that's why they come with a cleaning brush.

My comment was intended as a response to what caflowerluver said.

My mother has essential tremor and uses a straw for just about all but coffee.

Which is funny, because my dentist said drinking coffee through a straw will help preserve the color of your teeth. I do drink Starbucks lattes through a straw.

Other than Starbucks or a milkshake, I'm pretty indifferent to a straw - it wouldn't occur to me to use one at home. I have bought 3 packages of 300 plastic flex straws though so I'll have them for Mom.

I wouldn't use a metal straw without a silicone tip added. The metal gets really cold with iced beverages and they are dangerous. Could break a tooth or stab your mouth. I have a metal straw that I got a package from Walmart that came with 4 silicone tips that can be slipped on easily and it came with a tiny brush that cleans the inside.

I have always used a straw in a restaurant after reading that it is better to not drink from a glass because of the germs.

If you are worried about germs from the glass I think the straw is not going to help with the contents that are in the glass-just saying.

Is giving up straws going to help in a global world? I think it is a sort of reminder that what we do matters. It helps me remember to take my shopping bags to be aware of plastic waste. I will give up straws so that those who need them can do so without too much global impact. My opinion.

I agree. patriciae. I know that we cant eliminate plastic entirely and that plastic has many beneficial uses, but I am really trying to be aware of my use of single use plastics such as bags, eating utensils, plates, cups and the packaging my purchases come in. The packaging that the disposable plastic heads for my plastic electric toothbrush come in really bug me. It is a ridiculous amount of overkill for something that isn't fragile or breakable.

" The metal gets really cold with iced beverages and they are dangerous. "

The metal won't be any colder than the liquid is. If the liquid isn't dangerous, a straw at the same temperature wouldn't be either.

" is better to not drink from a glass because of the germs "

The inside of the glass will have the same germs as the outside of the glass. Furthermore, if plates or silverware ran through the dishwasher in the same batch, I believe all will have the same germs everywhere or none will have any germs anywhere.

Ever wonder why you don't get a cold or the flu or other illnesses from tableware used by sick people, when eating in public places? Commercial dishwashers either use very hot water that sterilizes when washing, or a chemical like chlorine at a lower temperature to do the same.

Elmer: I didn't mean the coldness is dangerous, they are dangerous because they do not bend and can stab you. Imagine the danger if a small child fell on a hard metal straw, they could lose an eye or worse!

The cold is just too cold on my lips when I drink an iced beverage. If you have not used a metal straw with an iced beverage, then I suggest you do so before you poo poo that idea...it IS cold, ask me how I know!

My original comment stated that my drinking cup came with a silicone straw. It isn't, it's a hard, rigid reusable straw. It pokes the roof of my mouth often when I take a sip so I don't use it.

I decided that I'm going to take my extra package of straws and my jigsaw puzzle to the Hospice that Tom was in. They are always looking for things like straws, food, computer paper etc, and there's always a jigsaw puzzle set up for the visitors to do.

I don't use straws a lot, but I absolutely MUST have one if i have a milkshake. i really enjoy a chocolate or coffee milkshake from time to time and the only way to enjoy the melting ice cream in your mouth is with a straw. I do have a couple boxes of straws in my kitchen pantry closet. Enough for at least a year, then I'll be in trouble.

Okay, ak girl, perhaps your phrasing led me astray. I got it.

Just in and of itself, I can see how a metal straw could be dangerous. I don't use straws and rarely do I drink iced drinks, so trying one would be of no use or interest to me. When I do drink iced drinks, the cold doesn't bother me and a straw wouldn't be suitable. I can't imagine drinking a gin and tonic through a straw. .

Everyone finds their own habits and happiness!

Americans lag in this area-plastics that is. I had this wild experience in Austria. You must buy bags there if you don't have one but try and buy one. You are treated like you are crazy. No one believes you actually are going to buy a plastic shopping bag even though you are an American who just got off an airplane. The clerk and the other customers all stare and comment. Why don't you have your bags? It is "interesting" I always take my light weight shopping bags with me when I head to Europe.

I don’t generally use straws except in a restaurant.

I did keep some brightly colored ones at home for the grandkids. They are the kind with the flexible bend in them, and I kept them in a cute glass dispenser like in an old time soda fountain. Still have a handful left. I like them because I could cut them in length to fit most any small plastic drink cup for the grandkids and they were easy for them to use.

Europe is wonderful to visit, Austria included, but you don't need to go that far to have a bag experience.

Come to my area. Many stores, grocery stores included, aren't permitted to give away bags for free. They must charge for them. So the common dialog at a check-stand is "Would you like to buy bags today?" It depends on the store but the price ranges from 10 to 25 cents. Better stores with nicer personnel often "forget" to put though the charge, or charge for one when you get three.