drinkng-strws-msg - 11/29/01 Period and ancient drinking straws. NOTE: See also the files: mazers-msg, mead-msg, wine-msg, p-tableware-msg, p-bottles-msg, lea-bottles-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ From: Bronwynmgn at aol.com Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 20:22:16 EDT Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are drinking straws? To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Stefan li Rous writes: > That made me wonder just how early drinking straws are? > Were they used in medieval times? Even if used in Classical > times this wouldn't necessarily indicate use in the Middle Ages. > Anyone know? While of course plastic ones are modern they > can be made of other materials, paper, metal, glass, reeds. There are some metal straws apparently used for drinking sacramental wine in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I'm afraid I don't remember exactly what century or culture they are from, but they were in the medieval rooms. I believe the theory had something to do with it being sacrilegious to spill even a drop of consecrated wine, and the straw helped prevent spilling. Brangwayna Morgan From: "Daniel Phelps" To: Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are drinking straws? Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 16:57:53 -0400 My copy of "Wassail! In Mazers of Mead" G.R. Gayre Phillimore & Sons. Ltd. London 1948, page 31 figures 2 & 3 shows line drawings of "Beer drinking through tubes in ancient Babylonia" and "Bottling Beer by syphon in Ancient Egypt." Unforunately it does not give a reference to their sources. Daniel Raoul Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 13:09:38 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are drinking straws? Mark.S Harris wrote: > Chirhart commented: >>Arrg yes if he be fitted with a new fangled straw >> > That made me wonder just how early drinking straws are? > Were they used in medieval times? Even if used in Classical > times this wouldn't necessarily indicate use in the Middle Ages. > Anyone know? While of course plastic ones are modern they > can be made of other materials, paper, metal, glass, reeds. > > I would think when they were used they would show up > in drawings of table settings or elsewhere. They appear in illustrations of ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians drinking beer, IIRC. Adamantius Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 13:16:49 -0400 From: johnna holloway To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are drinking straws? Drinking Straws In 1888, Marvin Stone patented the spiral winding process to manufacture the first paper drinking straws. Stone was already a manufacturer of paper cigarette holders. His idea was to make paper drinking straws. Before his straws, beverage drinkers were using the natural rye grass straws. The product was patented on January the 3rd, 1888. Later other kinds of spiral-wound paper and non-paper products were made. Stone Industrial History The Way Things Work - Drinking Straws taken from http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstraws.htm Johnna Holloway Johnnae llyn Lewis From: Christina Nevin To: "SCA-Cooks (E-mail)" Subject: [Sca-cooks] How old are drinking straws? Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 12:15:32 +0100 That made me wonder just how early drinking straws are? Were they used in medieval times? Even if used in Classical times this wouldn't necessarily indicate use in the Middle Ages. Anyone know? While of course plastic ones are modern they can be made of other materials, paper, metal, glass, reeds. I would think when they were used they would show up in drawings of table settings or elsewhere. Stefan li Rous Drinking straws are pre-Classical. They were used in ancient Egypt from the first dynasties, and probably pre-historic, for drinking beer, so as to not ingest the gritty bits, and are depicted in various tombs (sorry at work so can't give you actual references, just trust me on this one). Can't comment on their MA usage though. Lucrezia Edited by Mark S. Harris drinkng-strws-msg Page 3 of 3