Mail Trivia XIV

Did you know that...

the first mail carried by rail was in United Kingdom in 1830?

Mail Trivia XIII

Did you know that...

the first air-mail letter was carried by balloon from England to France in 1785?

Mail Trivia XII

Did you know that...

a stamp showing a printing or design error has a higher value than the rest?

Mail Trivia XI

Did you know that...

stamp dimensions are indicated in millimetres? The first cipher refers to the horizontal dimension of the stamp while the second to the vertical.

Mail Trivia X

Did you know that...

candles were once used to determine the cost of postage?
In 1693 letters were being held in front of a candle to determine the postage rate. The less the light would shine through, the more costly your postage rate would be. This was known as candling.

Mail Trivia IX

Did you know that...

the worldwide postal system comprising the individual national postal systems of the world's self-governing states is co-ordinated by the Universal Postal Union?

Mail Trivia VIII

Did you know that...

the term e-mail (short for "electronic mail") first appeared in 1982? The term snail-mail is a retronym that originated in 1983 to distinguish it from the quicker e-mail.

Mail Trivia VII

Did you know that...

in Australia, Canada and the United States, mail is commonly used both for the postal system and for letters, postcards and parcels? In New Zealand, post is more common for the postal system and mail for the material delivered. In the United Kingdom, post prevails in both senses.

Curiously, the British postal service is called Royal Mail, while the American, Australian, and Canadian national postal services are called, respectively, United States Postal Service, Australia Post, and Canada Post.

Also, such fixed phrases as post office or junk mail are found throughout the English-speaking world.

Mail Trivia VI

Did you know that...

pigeon post is a method of communication as old as the ancient Persians from whom the art of training the birds probably came?

Pigeons are effective to carry messages due to their natural homing abilities. The pigeons are transported to a destination in cages, where they are attached with messages. Then, naturally, the pigeon flies back to its home where the owner can read the mail.

Mail Trivia V

Did you know that...

before the use of adhesive paper stamps, letters were hand stamped or postmarked with ink?

Postmarks were the invention of Henry Bishop and were at first called "Bishop marks" after the inventor. Bishop marks were first used in 1661 at the London General Post Office. They marked the day and month the letter was mailed.

Mail trivia IV

Did you know that...

the "Penny Black" was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system?

It was issued by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on May 1st, 1840 and for use from May, 6th that year.

Happy Birthday to stamps on their 170th anniversary!

Mail trivia III

Did you know that...

the very first mailbox invented in history was created in 1653 by Renouard De Valayer?

He obtained the permission of King Louis XIV to establish a postal system in Paris. He set up a collection of boxes at street corners around the French capital, and announced by handbill that he was prepared to deliver any letters placed in them. Those letters had to be enclosed in the envelopes that he had placed on sale at certain stores. De Valayer's scheme failed, and it is generally thought that it was sabotaged by certain interests who feared its success. It was ruined by an enemy who put live mice into the letter boxes. Naturally, the public would not use such an insecure service and de Valayer had to give up.

Mail trivia II

Did you know that...

the first envelopes were made of cloth, animal skin, or vegetable parts? In fact, the Babylonians wrapped their message in thin sheets of clay that were then baked.

Mail trivia I

Did you know that...

the art of communication by written documents carried by an intermediary from one person or place to another almost dates back nearly to the invention of writing, 4,000 years B.C.?