A straw that bends seems like such a small convenience that it hardly looks like an invention.

Yet the familiar flexible neck began with a father noticing that an ordinary drinking straw did not work well for his daughter.

According to Smithsonian archives, Joseph Friedman watched young Judith struggle to drink through a straight straw at his brother’s San Francisco soda fountain.

The problem was the angle: the straw stood above the glass, making it awkward for a small child to reach.

A screw, some floss and a clever bend

Friedman experimented with a paper straw, inserting a screw and winding dental floss around the outside.

The pressure pushed the paper into the screw’s threads, forming a short section of ridges.

Once the screw was removed, that corrugated section let the straw bend over the glass rim.

Instead of forcing the drinker to lean toward the straw, the straw could turn toward the drinker.

The challenge was to make it bend without pinching the passage shut.

Simply folding a straight straw can flatten its walls and restrict the drink flowing through it.

Friedman’s design provided a flexible section near one end while leaving most of the tube comparatively rigid.

His patent described how the mouthpiece could be angled while keeping the opening substantially unobstructed.

From a family problem to a hospital helper

Friedman filed his application in November 1936 and received U.S. Patent 2,094,268, titled Drinking Tube, on September 28, 1937.

He had improved the drinking straw, rather than invented the idea of drinking through a tube.

Turning the design into a business took longer than the original experiment.

Existing straw manufacturers did not buy his patent, so Friedman pursued production himself.

His sister Betty helped with the business, including sales and distribution.

The unexpected early customers were hospitals: Smithsonian records identify the first sale in 1947.

The same bend that helped a child reach her drink could also help a patient drink while reclining.

That hospital use was already contemplated in the 1937 patent.

The breakthrough was a change in shape.

No complicated gadget was needed at the drinking end—just a small section that could flex while keeping the tube open.

The next time you notice a bendy straw, look closely at those little ridges.

They tell a useful invention story: sometimes improving an everyday object begins with watching where someone struggles to use it.

Sources: Smithsonian: Joseph B. Friedman Papers · Original 1937 Drinking Tube patent