Do you remember the days when checking the mailbox was exciting?
Today you can send a message to a friend with a touch of a button by text, email or phone call.
However, not too long ago, people waited weeks for a letter from pen pals.
Getting a letter in the mail was a momentous event.
As a kid and teen, I loved seeing what the day’s mail entailed:
A birthday party invitation.
A school announcement.
A pen pal letter.
A letter from a long-lost relative.
The monthly American Girl doll catalog.
The latest Seventeen magazine.
A college acceptance (hopefully not rejection) letter.
Christmas card family pictures.
Fast forward to today and mail checking is a lot less exciting.
Think: Bills, bank and credit statements and continuing education reminder letters.
Borrrrring.
It’s time to spice mail-checking back up.
Today, your mission for your Day 26 #thrivelife project is to write a snail mail letter to a friend.
Just to say “hi.”
(When you text her or him for their address, just tell them you were curious).
P.S.
Fun Facts on the US Postal Service
- Before July 1845, people almost never used envelopes. The main issue was cost, because sending two pieces of paper instead of one cost twice as much, since an envelope counted as an extra sheet.
- Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first-ever Postmaster General in 1775, the Postal Service
- There are nearly 42,000 ZIP Codes in the country.
- The easiest ZIP Code to remember is 12345, a unique ZIP Code for General Electric in Schenectady, NY.
- Today, a letter moves from New York to San Francisco in less than 7 hours. In 1900, it took 4 ½ days. In 1850, it took 4 to 6 weeks.
- The average American household receives 848 pieces of junk mail per household, which equals to 1.5 trees every year, more than 100 million trees for all U.S. households combined.
For more fun facts, check out the U.S. Postal Service’s History Page.