There are many things we use in our day to day lives that go unnoticed. Tools which we passed off long ago as having reached the pinnacle of their own quality - something that could not, and would not ever get any better. Yet they do get better, and sadly, it goes unnoticed. It's the tragedy of many heroes of day-to-day objects - forever dedicating themselves to making a great product even greater, each achievement so miniscule that no one takes notice.

They are like the runner who comes years after a great many sprinters, all of whom had broken records. At some point, the record is so close to the upper limit - you can only run the 100m dash so fast - that any faster record is largely unnoticed.

The best example is the unsung, but glorious history of the straw. The straw was first made with, quite literally, straw. Hollow stems of grass, which allowed a drinker enjoy their beverage without needing to tilt their glass. Sumerians were the first to use straws, and used them to drink beer. Meanwhile in Argentina, they were using metallic straws for drinking Herba Mate, straws they called bombillas.

But the straw of the modern world was patented by an American, Marvin C. Stone in 1888. Marvin Stone, who worked in factory that made paper cigarette holders, realized that these very same paper tubes could be used as straws - and eliminate the bitter grass taste from drinks. And so the paper straw was born.

Eventually, as the world embraced plastic, the straw industry did so too making paper straws a thing of the past.

And it ends there, right? No! Refinements to the plastic straw were to come, as they soon realized the plastic being used to make the straws was less dense than drinks, causing the straw to float to the top. This wasn't much an issue for bottles and paper cups. Bottles had a thin neck, so the straw wouldn't get very far. Paper cups on the other hand had recently been given a new innovation - the plastic top that protected against spillage also held the straw steady. But cans were another issue. The elite bottle and cup drinkers were living the high life, while it was an entirely different world - a miserable world - for the can drinker, who has to constantly readjust their straws after they floated to the top of the can, and then tip downwards at an awkward angle.

While many would have given up at this point, and accept this as the unfair code of life, a hero emmerged for the can drinkers - a hero which came up with the cost-effective solution of, rather than creating plastic of denser material, simply putting thin red stripes of denser material down the sides of straws - providing greater ridgidity, and sufficient density to keep the straws rooted to the bottom.

And the can drinkers rejoiced.

Of course, this innovation has not been embraced by the entire straw industry - as you'll still find homogeneous straws, often thin white plastic straws that are prone to floating. But more often than not you'll find yourself drinking from a thicker white straw with thin red lines of a denser material and when you do, rejoice! Embrace mankind's unending desire for a better life!

Then of course the more obvious innovations of straws, including the straws with a crimp in the neck that allowed for any acute bending - the angle of preference left to the drinker. And of course, the modern abstract straw which sacrificed function for aesthetics with: the crazy straw.



But straws are not the only example of unfaltering passion for innovation. Drinking cups! Drinking cups have their own great history, with signs of many different progressions through time. Think of the paper-cone cup! Or the ever refining of the materials with which to make cups - making them increasingly eco-friendly, from styrofoam, to paper, to recycled paper, to the latest innovation that has only come out in recent years: the compostable cup!

Sleep well at night, dear friends, and rest assured that there are some who are dedicating their entire lives to answering the ignorant question: "How much better can it really get?"