The Drinking Straw 1888 Fed up with natural straws ruining his mint julep (and really, who among us?), paper-cigarette-holder manufacturer Marvin Stone wrapped strips of paper around a pencil, glued the strips, and voilà! The Modern Blood Bank 1942 DC native Charles Dr ew, a surgeon and pioneer in blood-plasma research, wrote a patent for a method of preserving blood that helped establish modern blood-banking. Camo as a Pattern 1917 During World War I, a group of painters, sculptors, and other artists joined the Army as “camoufleurs” and gathered at American University to design camouflage patterns for combat. The Rickey Cocktail 1883 A refreshing mix of bourbon, lime, ice, and seltzer water, DC’s official cocktail—FYI, July is “Rickey Month”—was born at a Penn Quarter saloon owned by lobbyist and Confederate veteran Joseph Rickey. Whole-Body CT Scans 1973 Using a $250,000 grant, Georgetown physiologist Robert S. Ledley designed the first computerized machine capable of scanning and producing images of the entire body. Morse Code 1838 Samuel Morse may have been a failed painter, but he made good by developing the telegraph, sending its first message from the US Capitol with a code he invented. The Football Huddle 1894 Gallaudet University quarterback Paul Hubbard invented football huddles when he asked his team to stand in a circle while using American Sign Language to avoid revealing plays to the opposing team. Cold-Plasma Cancer Treatment 2018 Working with George Washington University researchers, surgical oncologist Jerome Canady developed a system that uses cold plasma to destroy cancer cells after tumor removal—without harming healthy cells. The Sanitary Belt 1957 Washingtonian Mary Kenner invented the sanitary belt—a prototype of the maxi pad—but companies refused to sponsor her patent fees because she was Black. Illustration by Miguel Porlan. This article appears in the June 2026 issue of Washingtonian.The post 9 Inventions You Didn’t Know Were Made in DC first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less