When I was a kid, Post Cereals used to put short lengths of colored tubing in cereal boxes and called them "Silly Straws". They advertised them on TV also. My favorite cereal was Post Super Sugar Crisp ( it still is!) and I asked my Mom to lay in a lot of it after we found out it worked well for 1/2A fuel line! Came is several pretty colors also.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee