As we open our morning post we rarely give thought to the host of weird and wonderful facts associated with this most traditional of communication methods. While we’re likely to remember peculiar bits of postal trivia from recent history – think the local post-boxes posted gold in honour of medal-winning Olympians – we may need to cast our postal bags a bit further when it comes to getting a fully potted history of postage from around the globe.
Here are some quirky postal facts from around the world that are bound to deliver a few laughs.
USA, 1920 – Parents craving a day away from their little ones may have been disappointed to find that sending children by Parcel Post was officially banned in this year.
Picture credit: Jen
UK, 2000 - Postman Pat has upheld his image as one of the pillars of the postal service since he first graced our screens in 1981. But that didn’t stop Royal Mail ending their sponsorship of the much -loved character in 2000. Apparently he didn’t fit their corporate image!
Picture credit: William Mews
Germany, 2001 – Dogs can be a tricky obstacle to navigate for posties, which is why the German postal services’ dog psychology lessons would have come in so handy.
India, Today - India is home to the largest postal network with a staggering 1, 55,015 Post Offices! Where does the country’s postal force get its energy from?
Picture credit: Patrik M.Loeff