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Pushing The Postal Envelope

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the *my*-letter-carrier-doesn't-show-after-an-inch-of-snow dept.

Alexander Burke writes: "The Annals of Improbable Research has a sidesplitting account of their research into exactly what the USPS will tolerate. They mailed various items -- ranging from the absurd to the grotesque, usually without packaging -- to various real domestic addresses. Said items include a hammer, a rose, a ski (!), a tooth, a brick, a helium balloon, a bottle of water, and many more. It's pure craziness, and definitely worth a read!"

4 of 173 comments (clear)

  1. UPS vs. USPS by Restil · · Score: 5

    I work at UPS, and ALL of the items listed would have made it through as shipped with no problems, except for the fact that they might be a bit roughhoused. It might seem strange to drop a hammer into a mailbox, but at UPS, this is par for the course. There are a LOT of individual items shipped as is, no wrapping, with just a label slapped on the side. Especially around Xmas, people will literally ship Xmas trees with a label taped around the trunk. It usually ends up in several pieces by the time it gets to its destination, but it WILL get there.

    Other strange things that have come through the system include an unwrapped matress, a freshly severed bear's head, LOTS of tires with no wrapping, a car bumper that looked like it had been ripped off the car, complete with the license plate, boxes of live crickets which usually break open so you have crickets loose all over the place, individual car parts with no wrapping. Rank food is quite common on return items.

    Fortunately, at UPS about 3% of the volume involves packages like this, so there are regular methods to transport them internally (they don't travel on the conveyor belts) I would imagine that the post office simply doesn't have the facilities to deal with a large number of unusual objects.

    -Restil

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  2. Re:Why is the DEA examining mail? by el_chicano · · Score: 5
    it's probably something that you unknowingly agree to when you ship with usps.
    Wouldn't it be simpler to get a drug-sniffing dog to examine the brick BEFORE destroying it? Anyway if it had contained drugs, wouldn't it better to ship it and then arrest the recipient AFTER delivery?

    Packages in the USPS care are supposed to be Constitutionally protected from illegal search and seizure, but search warrants are all to easy to obtain. All it takes is a cop lying about probable cause and one conservative "law and order" "tough on crime" judge who has never heard of the Fourth Amendment...
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  3. What to mail, what not to. by iElucidate · · Score: 5
    This link was mentionted during Rob's recent tirade on junk mail and mailing back the offending letters. AIR has done many other amusing studies, but this one stands out for its sheer scope.

    I would advise you, though, not to put the postal employees through too much grief. Their job is tough enough as it is. When you want to send some critical and strangely sized package, just do us all a favor and use FedEx or UPS or one of the many other private carriers. And pack appropriately! The poor guy who had to figure out what to do with the moldy and stinky cheese deserves a medal. The person who was forced to break the brick into little pieces to check for drug content probably had better things to do. And the person who had to lug the snow ski to a mailbox probably does not get enough medical coverage by the USPS to make up for the dent in his back.

    These are people, people! Give 'em a bit of respect, or at least think about what they have to put up with on those days when you want to shoot someone because of the quality of service you receive.

  4. Mystery Explained by MWoody · · Score: 5

    "Please be advised that human remains may not be transported through the mail."

    So THAT's what happened to aunt June...
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