straw

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Leave Your 'Vampire' Straws at Home Next Time You Fly

Man arrested at Logan Airport for trying to bring titanium smoothie-sipper/tire deflator in carry-on

(Newser) - On the Szabo Inc. website , a "Vampire" straw is sold for $85, promoted as a "unique" item made of titanium that "allows the user to drink effortlessly any thick shake or smoothie." It's also "long enough to drink from any long beverage can,"...

McDonald's Opts for Paper Straws That Can't Be Recycled

At least, not yet

(Newser) - McDonald's has ditched its plastic straws in favor of paper ones in the UK and Ireland —there's just one itty-bitty, teenie-weenie little problem: The paper straws can't be recycled. The fast-food company has called the new paper straws "eco-friendly," but, though the paper is...

New Trump Slogan: 'Make Straws Great Again'

And you can buy them for $15

(Newser) - President Trump's reelection campaign has a new slogan—or it's mentioned in an email, anyway. "Make Straws Great Again," reads a Friday missive from Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. The email takes a stab at paper straws (they "don't work") before making its...

Death by Metal Drinking Straw Is Now a Thing

UK woman fatally impaled on straw stuck in lid

(Newser) - A coroner is warning people to never fix metal drinking straws in place after the truly horrifying case of an English woman impaled in the eye. Elena Struthers-Gardner died after collapsing on a 10-inch stainless steel straw she had stuck in a screw-top lid on a Mason jar-style drinking glass...

Other Countries Are Doing It. 'Canada Will Be One of Them'

Single-use plastics will be banned as early as 2021

(Newser) - Canada will ban single-use plastics as early as 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday. Trudeau said the specific items to be banned will be determined based on a science-based review, but the government is considering items such as water bottles, plastic bags, and straws. "As early as 2021,...

McDonald's Worker Fights Back After Man Loses It Over Straw
McDonald's Worker 
Fights Back After
Man Loses It Over Straw
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McDonald's Worker Fights Back After Man Loses It Over Straw

'My family, they know how to box,' she says

(Newser) - A Florida man infuriated by his failure to find a plastic straw lunged at and grabbed a McDonald's worker. Unfortunately for him, the young woman knew how to box, according to Kinie Biandudi, who shared video of the altercation . Mother Brenda Biandudi, who recorded the video, tells the Washington ...

California Bars Restaurants From Just Handing Out Straws

Patrons will have to ask for single-use plastic straws, starting next year

(Newser) - People who want straws with their drinks at California restaurants will have to request them under a new law, the AP reports. The law signed Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown makes California the first state to bar full-service restaurants from automatically giving out single-use plastic straws. It takes effect next...

Blowback Against Plastic Straws Is Great News for This Company

Indiana's Aardvark Straws makes a paper version, and the company was just purchased

(Newser) - The sole US producer of paper straws has been bought up in the latest sign that plastic straws are becoming a thing of the past . In a deal announced Monday, disposable tableware manufacturer Hoffmaster Group will acquire Indiana-based Aardvark Straws, whose degradable and compostable paper straws have been in high...

Calif. Bill Would Punish Straw-Happy Servers

But harsh penalties for 'Straws Upon Request' bill will be amended, lawmaker insists

(Newser) - Restaurant servers who give customers plastic drinking straws they haven't asked for will have to suck up a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine or six months in prison under a controversial bill in California. The bill was introduced in the State Assembly by Majority Leader Ian Calderon...

Weird Part of McDonald's Straw-Redesign Stunt: 'It Works'

Two top engineering firms went at it

(Newser) - A new McDonald's marketing stunt has managed to catch the attention of tech and food blogs because of its weird premise: the redesign of the humble straw. The chain hired two respected engineering firms—people behind Google, NASA, and DARPA projects—to build a straw that allows for the...

Mag Uses Wheat Paper for Green Issue

Canadian publication is first in N. America to try forest-friendly idea

(Newser) - A Canadian magazine is printing a special environmental issue on paper made from wheat straw, the CBC reports. Canadian Geographic's "wheat sheets," made from harvest waste, will be a first for a North American magazine. Environmentalists say using wheat-straw pulp could save millions of trees every year and...

Straw Goes Green
Straw
Goes
Green

Straw Goes Green

Eco-friendly building material branches out beyond fairy tales

(Newser) - The newest surprise climate-saving tool is straw walls, and the Big Bad Wolf may have underestimated the First Little Pig’s shelter, the Washington Post reports. Instead of drywall or insulation, contractors stack the farm waste around buildings’ skeletons and then coat it with plaster. The eco-friendly result looks like...

12 Stories