heat capacity: any short term experiment will measure heat capacity first, conduction second
locality of contact: contact along the whole length of the straw eliminates heat conduction along the length of the straw. A single point of contact (holding the straw with fingers instead of the whole hand) behaves differently.
I thought plastic straws were thinner than 0.2 mm, so maybe the metal is actually better.
It’s fun arguing about these technicalities though!
Counterpoint: drink a cold drink through a plastic straw and a metal straw, with your fingers on the straw. See which one feels cooler.
There are two compounding factors
heat capacity: any short term experiment will measure heat capacity first, conduction second
locality of contact: contact along the whole length of the straw eliminates heat conduction along the length of the straw. A single point of contact (holding the straw with fingers instead of the whole hand) behaves differently.
I thought plastic straws were thinner than 0.2 mm, so maybe the metal is actually better.
It’s fun arguing about these technicalities though!