Tea Bags
Once upon a time, there was a man named Thomas Sullivan. He sold delicious coffee and tea to people all around America. He loved his job, but he had a problem. When he sent samples of his tea to his customers, he would pack them in cans, which were expensive and heavy to send by mail.
One day, in 1904, Thomas had an idea. What if he could make something that was easier and cheaper to send, but still kept the tea fresh and delicious? He looked around his shop and saw some little silk bags that he used to pack other things. And then, he had a brilliant idea - what if he put his tea samples into the little silk bags?
So, Thomas got to work and hand-sewed the silk bags himself. When he sent out the samples in the silk bags, he didn't realize that he had just invented the tea bag!
Soon, people started to order tea from Thomas, but they didn't want it in a can or loose like before. They wanted it in little bags, just like the silk bags he had sent his samples in. The customers found that the small bags made brewing tea easier and less messy. And that's how the tea bag became so popular!
Over the years, tea bags have been improved and made even better. Today, more than half of the tea that people drink in their homes in America is made from tea bags. So, the next time you make a cup of tea, remember that it all started with a clever idea from Thomas Sullivan, who invented the tea bag without even realizing it!
