Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Bent-Straws Set

Assorted lengths, mostly, to accommodate different glasses
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Your typical bendable straw has a special flexible section. That is *not* this Idea. These straws are made pre- bent. We want them to be made out of really tough plastic, like polycarbonate, but we want the chosen plastic to be glass- like in its appearance (same index of refraction as glass). Thus they will "fit" with a fine dining experience, without being dangerously breakable, and can be re-used and last a long time.

The bent-over part of the straw only needs to be a centimeter or so in length, minimizing any obtrusiveness of appearance. Since it is bent over, the person holding the glass need not tip either the glass or the head, when drinking while looking at something. About the only time the glass need be tipped is when almost empty, and the straw didn't quite reach the bottom.

Because different glasses have different depths, we need a set of different-length straws, all pre-bent. Obviously, the more different-length straws we can include in a set, the better! People would need to buy a set of straw-sets --one straw-set for each potential diner. In practice, though, most of the time only one straw from each straw-set would be placed in a glass at the dining table (perhaps two or three, if each diner has some different-sized glasses).

Finally, right near the place where the bent-over part of the straw rests on the lip of the glass, the straw features a little nubbin of solid material on the underside of the bent- over part of the straw. This creates a kind of notch for the lip of the glass, so that the straw sets on the edge and does not move when pushed (such as when mouth-lips first grip the end of the straw).

Bonus notion: Depending on the surface characteristics of the chosen plastic for the straws, it may be possible to make a telescoping version. We want its extensibility to be somewhat stiff, so that its length doesn't change while being used. And of course the different telescoping segments need tight sealing, to ensure it can still work as a straw. Its appearance, however, might take a bit of getting-used-to, and possibly would clash with a fine dining experience. On the other hand, if it works acceptably, then the set of bent straws could be reduced significantly in number.

Vernon, Jun 29 2014

Glass Straws https://www.google....=%22glass+straws%22
To my surprise, these actually exist and folks dare to buy them. Some are even bent, although a bit differently than described in this Idea. [Vernon, Feb 15 2016]

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       //Thus they will "fit" with a fine dining experience// [Vernon], just because you order extra fries does not make it a "fine dining experience".
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 15 2016
  

       I was about to link to glass straws when I saw you already had. I have some, some bent and some straight. They're pretty nice.
notexactly, Feb 15 2016
  

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