Forty cards in forty days. Does Hallmark work that fast (don’t answer that). <– See. No question mark.

On August 24th (there’s one for Cole), 1912, Parcel Post became a thing. Previous to this date, private express companies were used for packages weighing more than four pounds. If you’ve been diligently following COVID Cards (Mary and Sharon), you may recall that one addressed (no pun intended) the issue of people mailing themselves and you may be thinking, “Tina, are you trying to tell me that people weighed four pounds or less?” Of course not, sillies. The four pound weight limit was one of the regulations introduced when free home and business delivery began. However…

The introduction of Parcel Post meant that letter carriers could now deliver packages up to 11 pounds. And do you know what some people mailed? BABIES.

Just a few weeks after Parcel Post began, Jesse and Mathilda Beagle “mailed” their 8-month-old son James to his grandmother, who lived a few miles away near Batavia, Ohio. Baby Beagle was just under the initial 11-pound limit for parcels. Rural Carrier Vernon Lytle picked up the baby from his parents’ house and carried him in his mail wagon to his grandmother’s house. The postage was fifteen cents, and the “parcel” was insured for $50. (source)

Strictly speaking, it was (and still is) against postal regulation to mail children, no matter how little they weighed. Until 1918, when day-old chicks were added to the list of live creatures that could be sent via mail, the only live creatures that were legally mailable were bees and bugs.

Gotta go, I’ve got something to mail to Mitch McConnell… (I’m kidding FBI spies)