Grand Canyon, Colorado

May 1999: the U.S. Postal Service had printed 100 million copies of a stamp showing the Grand Canyon before anyone noticed that the stamp had "Grand Canyon, Colorado" printed in the corner. Luckily, the stamps hadn't been released to the public yet, but they all had to be destroyed and replaced with a new stamp which correctly placed the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

According to the site canyonology.com, the problems with the stamp didn't end there. It was discovered that the image of the canyon had been flipped left to right, but the postal service decided this wasn't enough of an error to warrant reprinting the stamp.

Salem Statesman Journal - May 18, 1999

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 17, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: 1990s, Postal Services, Stamps, Arizona

Juvenile Offender

Throw the book at her!

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 21, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Crime, Toys, Children, 1930s, Postal Services

The Only Floating Zip Code in the USA

Article here.

Wikipedia entry here.

Good article about other "unique zip codes" here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 07, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Postal Services

How We Do Things in Kansas

I love this genre of postcards that feature oversized common things like fish and various crops. This is one I had not seen before.



Source.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 19, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Agriculture, Enlargements, Miniatures, and Other Matters of Scale, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Horticulture and Gardens, Humor, Regionalism, Surrealism, Twentieth Century, Postal Services

Tom & Roy

I can tell you absolutely nothing about this.

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 22, 2019 - Comments (7)
Category: Human Marvels, Music, Postal Services

Animal of the Month Club

Creative Playthings, Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey launched its "Animal of the Month Club" in 1968. For $19.95, subscribers received small animals in the mail— not actually every month as the name of the club implied, but every few months. The animals included Argentine toads, a "mystery snail," newts, musk turtles, African underwater frogs, and Siamese fish.

The club reflected Creative Playthings philosophy of "helping children to learn while they play." There was, unfortunately, one big problem with the execution of the concept. The animals kept dying in the mail. So, by 1970, the club was no more.

Tyrone Daily Herald - Apr 1, 1969

Akron Beacon Journal - Apr 20, 1969

Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 06, 2018 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, 1960s, Postal Services

Mr. Zap of the USPS

Full story here.



Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 13, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Stupid Criminals, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, 1970s, Postal Services

Zip Code Hootenanny

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 23, 2016 - Comments (1)
Category: Music, PSA’s, 1960s, Postal Services

Mailed herself to the Beatles

June 1966: 12-year-old Beatles superfan Carol Dryden of Sunderland, England came up with an ingenious scheme to meet the Fab Four. She packaged herself inside a box and arranged to have a friend mail her to them — addressed "to the Beatles, care their fan club, London." Shipping cost $8.47.

But Carol only got as far as the railway station, where a clerk noticed the box she was in wobbling back and forth. Inside of it, Carol, overheated and running out of air because she hadn't made any holes in the box, was trying to take off her sweater.

Carol confessed, "I hadn't thought about fresh air or food. All I wanted was to see the Beatles. I don't know what I would have done had I really arrived on their doorstep. I suppose I would have fainted."

The railroad refunded the freight charge.

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - June 16, 1966

Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 26, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Amateurs and Fans, 1960s, Postal Services

Late mail, postage due

1974: Roy Baker of Guthrie, Oklahoma received a Christmas card two years after it had been mailed. Because the price of a stamp had gone up between the time it was mailed and the time it was delivered, the post office decided there was postage due.

Baker wisely decided it was useless to argue with the post office and paid them the two cents they wanted.

Detroit Free Press - Apr 7, 1974

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 21, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: 1970s, Postal Services