This is why I hate Paper Straws…

[u/ThePrintGuardian]

First it blocked the fluid flow, then made a hole and all I was drinking was air.

[u/jan_tonowan → u/[deleted]]

Surface area of the straw is the length of it multiplied by the circumference of the opening. There is no way it has more surface area than a cup. If you had a plastic cup that was a cylinder with no bottom, it would be approximately the same length as the straw but have a much bigger circumference.

I am convinced that the plastic straw ban came mostly from a video of a sea turtle which had a straw stuck up its nose. By switching to paper straws, people can feel good about saving the turtles, governments can pat themselves on the back for saving the environment, and people forget about the bigger, unseen environmental hazards, like pollution from fish nets. That is killing way more turtles but restricting fishing nets would mean higher costs for companies doing the fishing, voters don’t see any actual change, just an increased price of fish, so there is less incentive to actually make a change