Could we make a house out of straw(s)....

Lately I've noticed that sometime in my life drinking straws became standard offering at restaurants. I know this wasn't always the case, since in the past I remember if I wanted a straw, I had to ask for one. Most times, I would just drink out of the glass. But now, every drink you get has a straw. The only other place that I remember straws was in fast food restaurants so you could drink out of the cup while you drove.

So is this a bottled water kind of thing? Here have a straw because our dishes are dirty you need to protect yourself from drinking out of the glass? Just like bottled water suggests your municipal water is unsafe, is dishware now unsafe? But if the straw suggests the glass is dirty, why are you drinking the soda in your dirty glass? Something doesn't add up?

However, I'm sure all those plastic straws add up somewhere, maybe in landfills? Am I missing something? Why do we now insist on straws with our drinks?