Fun Mail Delivery and Shipping Trivia

Most people don’t think much about the shipping industry or shipping services, they just show up at the post office, send their packages and move on to the next item on their to-do list.

However, there are some interesting, little-known facts about this industry if you look just below the surface. Here are a few things you may not know about the Postal Service used by millions every day.

• It’s common knowledge the Postal Service promises to deliver regardless of rain, sun, sleet or snow, but do you know the quote that inspired this dedication or where it came from? The entire quote reads “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” So who first said it? Was it a politician or member of the Pony Express? Actually, it was an ancient Greek historian named Herodotus who lived during the 5th century B.C. Obviously, Herodotus wasn’t talking about the U.S. Postal Service, instead he was referring to the efficient courier service that existed during the ancient Persian Empire.

• How many pieces of mail do you think are processed each day? Each hour? Each Minute? It’s estimated that 584 million pieces of mail are sorted and handled in the U.S. per day. That means 24 million pieces are sorted each hour, or 405,000 every minute.

• What are the five leading classes of mail and how much income do they generate in the average year? The five leading classes include First-Class Mail, Advertising, Shipping Services, Periodicals and Package Services. Together these services bring in around $70 billion a year.

• The Postal Service does quite a bit of good for the world as well. For instance, the “Have You Seen Me” campaign has helped return over 150 missing children to their families. The U.S. Postal Service also holds the largest 1-day food drive in the nation each year. Since the food drive first started almost 20 years ago, it’s collected over 1,000 million pounds of food for needy families.

• Did you know the shipping and delivery industry is one of the greenest in America? Their green efforts include environmental protection policies, energy conservation and greener building construction. In fact, the Postal Service has the largest green roof in New York City, quite a feat when you consider how many skyscrapers there are in New York City!

• Everyone knows the U.S. Postal Service uses trucks and airplanes to deliver mail. But did you know they also use trains, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, subways, bicycles, hovercrafts, street cars, float planes, mules and their workers’ own feet?

For further information on the U.S. Postal Service and all the things they do, visit their Postal Facts page at http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/postalfacts.htm. The website features many other interesting trivia questions about the Postal Service, such as the most unusual post office buildings, fun facts about unusual delivery methods and an entire listing of facts and figures related to the U.S Postal Service.