Archive about 'Uncategorized'
Flat Rate Box Full of Lead
Someone emailed me and asked if they could send this package. I’m glad I said “yes” because I have had a blast passing it around and showing it to people. The package is a Flat Rate Priority Mail box the size of a VHS tape. Inside is a block of milled lead cut to fit [...]
Mailing a Camera
Someone mailed a camera to Burning Man, asking the post office to take pictures along the way. It was entirely successful. Check out the photos here…
Clear box and rubber ball
While it’s not my goal to solicit weird articles to post on this site (there’s already Wired’s Return to Sender Contest and Post Secret), someone sent this odd piece of mail and I decided to share it. I’m not exactly sure who sent it, but I suspect someone from Jelly. The box is a clear [...]
Another Mail Hacker
The Independent is carrying a great article about another mail hacker who sends strangely addressed envelopes. Here’s my favorite quote: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/return-to-sender-artist-puts-royal-mail-to-the-test-955499.html She has a book coming out soon as well, already listed on Amazon: Envelopes: A Puzzling Journey Through the Royal Mail .
HOPE Videos
While the videos are out on torrent sites, I have two copies right here for download. This is a 350MB version MP4 and this is a more compressed, but almost as readable 70MB Version that is faster to download and/or takes up less iPod space.
HOPE Talks On-line
Audio versions of the HOPE presentations are now on-line at http://www.thelasthope.org/talks.html, including my presentation. Thanks again for HOPE putting these on-line! I’m already getting comments from people who missed HOPE, but heard the presentation on-line.
Notes from The Last H.O.P.E.
A big thank you to everyone who came to my presentation, and special thanks to all the people who help make H.O.P.E. happen. Here are the links promised. http://pe.usps.com http://ribbs.usps.com http://letterfu.com http://mppclub.org http://postcrossing.com And here is a copy of my presentation in PDF and Powerpoint. This is “last week’s version” so it is slightly different [...]
Matching Wits with the Post Office, Circa 1957
ModernMechanix.com is publishing a reprint from a 1957 issue of Popular Science. It shows how mail was delivered, including underground pneumatic tubes in New York City. The article even mentions people like me who mess around with the system: Then there are wags who like to match wits with the post office. Some address letters [...]
Packages With Only One Side
My friend, James Dean, gave me this Wal-Mart promotional piggy bank. It’s about 30cm round and has been my favorite package to send. It’s roundness causes lots of fun. When I mailed it to my parents, the clerk put it on the scale to weigh it. It promptly rolled off and made a nice WHAM [...]
Getting a letter in the mail
This cartoon reminds me of one of the first postal pranks I can remember. Maybe in 6th or 7th grade, my Boy Scout leader sent himself a “letter” while we were at summer camp. Each day he would run up the mail call asking if his letter had arrived. After four or five days, his [...]