• The word “草” (grass) in the term “水草” may be a paraphrase of the English term “straw”, which in turn got its name from the dried stalks of grain which were used for sucking up water before the invention of paper and plastic drinking straws.
• The Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu mentioned the use of hollow reeds for drinking wine. These reeds grew by the water. As “水草” originally means “aquatic plants”, it is quite apposite that drinking straws are called “水草” in Singapore and Malaysia.
• In the past, the term “水草” was commonly used in newspapers and advertisements in Singapore. Today, the term “吸管” is more common in print, but “水草” continues to be used in speech.

 The thick-skinned watermelons turned out to be no match for the soft drinking straws. With barely any effort, the veteran performer thrust the straws one after the other into the melons, as easily as if he were spearing tofu. The onlookers applauded in unison. (Shin Min Daily News, 28/12/1996)