The flexible drinking straw
Who
Joseph B. Friedman, an American inventor from a Jewish immigrant family
When
1937
Where
California, United States
Watching his small daughter struggle to drink from a tall glass, Joseph Friedman put a screw inside a paper straw, wound floss around it and made a corrugated hinge. Patented in 1937, the bendable straw was first sold to hospitals, where it let bedridden patients drink lying down.
Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.