IDK why your comment reminded me, but back when I was in middle school (late 90s) we had an anti drug guest speaker. One of those ones where they were former addicts trying to scare you out of trying drugs. During the Q&A, someone asked him a question and that got him onto how plastic water bottles were super bad for you and you should never drink out of plastic because you’re ingesting tiny plastic particles. I remember we were laughing at him while administration was trying to shoo him off the stage.
Now we just kinda shrug when told we’re ingesting a credit card worth of plastic every week, lol.
I'm not sure why you guys have such a hard time figuring out that a stirrer for coffee should have a little extra surface area to move the coffee around.
People used anything they can get their mitts on as coke spoons this isn't unique to McDonald's but it HAS happened a fee times to several of thier disposable wares.
I know what people used it for but it doesn't negate the fact that it's design just so happened to be useful for that, not that it was designed that way on purpose.
All I've ever seen are those little tiny straws they call swizzle sticks. I would use them like straws when I was a kid. Super small, super hard to suck through straws.