For most ordinary people, delivery services have a clearly defined place in the world. They bring our online shopping, deliver our cards, flowers and birthday presents, and in some cases, they even serve up dinner thanks to those smart meal kit companies. Sensible, right? But here’s the thing; it turns out the delivery industry has a more sinister underbelly which has seen some truly crazy s**t being packed, shipped and sent to friends and foes!
Let’s take a look at some of those insane objects and creatures people, past and present, have sent via courier (and successfully too!)
Children used to be sent by post – seriously
Back in the days when postal services were a relatively ‘new thing’, people got a little over excited about its potential benefits. A few weeks after the US Post Office’s Parcel Post began operating in 1913, a couple from Ohio mailed their 8-month-old son to his grandparents for 15 cents! Naturally, it captured headlines, but it seems this attention only advertised the benefits to other parents across the US who followed suit (provided their child was within the 11-pound weight limit, of course).
You can send a brick
If someone has rubbed you up the wrong way, there’s surely no better way to show your unappreciation than sending them a solid concrete brick. Well, that’s what the website mailbricks.com thinks anyway. With the witty tagline “Because throwing it through their window is illegal”, this brick gifting service offers to send one, or a selection of bricks on behalf of those looking for a good belly laugh at someone else’s expense.
Once, a poor cat called Cupcake was sent 260 miles to a customer
OK – this one was an accident, and the sender wasn’t selling cats online, but the point is, this actually happened! A couple of years ago, Cupcake (the cat) fell asleep in a box of DVDs shortly before it was sealed and sent on its merry way by Julie, her unsuspecting owner. Cupcake spent 8 days in the box (that would never happen with Go People), but thankfully she was fine, and Julie got her back albeit a little peckish. So, now we can all laugh at this crazy chain of events guilt free.
It’s totally fine to send bees via courier
You’d probably think the idea of shipping a swarm of angry bees who love nothing more than being packed in a small, hot, dark box (they don’t) is ridiculous. But apparently, it’s not. While bees are officially classified as “allowed” mail items in the UK, here in Australia, 100 bees died in February this year while being express posted during a Queensland heatwave.
Apparently, the Queensland beekeeper said, “Queen bees are very commonly sent by post – that’s normal”.
So, there you have it; it’s normal.
An entire bank, and it wasn’t OK
Once again, the early US Parcel Post service was the victim of abuse. This time, it was because a bright spark responsible for building the Bank of Vernal in Utah realised it would be much cheaper to transport the bricks 127 miles from their manufacturer by post – in small 50-pound packages. The more sensible option of wagon freight was four times the price! Fair play, perhaps? Needless to say, the worn-out post office staff quickly rewrote the rules putting a cap on the daily weight anyone could send.
Poop!
Yep, you saw it coming and we went there. But there’s a serious point here – not every country, including the US, has regulations expressly prohibiting faeces from being sent by post or courier. That’s why there’s even a company that allows Americans to send a selection of fine excrements including cow dung, elephant crap, gorilla poop or a combo pack to anyone you like. If you feel the urge, you can check out Poop Senders yourself here.
Disclaimer: At Go People, we’re up for delivering just about anything, but if you think your items are likely to scream, sting, scratch, smell or die of starvation, please do call us to discuss your very specific delivery needs first.