Put 40 pounds of mail [1] in one and hang it off your shoulder, and suddenly it isn't so effete. ;-) [1] At one time, the maximum load permitted by USPS regs.

Put 40 pounds of mail [1] in one and hang it off your shoulder, and suddenly it isn't so effete. ;-) [1] At one time, the maximum load permitted by USPS regs. And yes, they got that heavy. Especially when e.g. Time and Newsweek Tuesday (and a few other glossy rags) coincided with a Spiegel catalog (ugh).