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The strangely successful history of people mailing themselves in boxes (2015)
- whatever1 5y agoThe first time I had to post a mail was when I moved to an apartment and I had to send the check to the landlord. So I wrote my landlord’s address at the top and my address below it, stamped it and happily posted it. Sure thing after two days I received in my mailbox my check /facepalm
- samatman 5y agoDid you write RETURN TO SENDER on the envelope and stick it back in the mailbox?
- sandworm101 5y agoThat is actually an old legal trick. By mailing something to yourself you are getting a sealed envelope that is dated by a government agency. If you want to prove that you had or knew something at a particular time (like a copy of a will or a statement by someone) then it is a useful scheme.
- mindcrime 5y agoThat doesn't actually prove anything. Consider: you could have mailed an open, unsealed envelope to yourself, and then sealed it at any later date.
- sandworm101 5y agoIf your post office is accepting open envelopes then they need to stop doing so. It's not just against various rules but can jam the machines that sort envelopes.
- Verdex 5y agoI guess you could tape it shut and then carefully remove the tape when you get it. Once you have something you want to "send to the past" you use whatever natural stickiness comes with the envelope.
- mindcrime 5y agoYou could tack it shut just enough to get by, but not actually full seal it. For that matter, you could probably just stuff the outer flap down inside the envelope and maybe put a very small piece of tape on it. Same difference in the end. The point being, mailing yourself an envelope doesn't really prove anything about the provenance of whatever is found inside later.
- LorenPechtel 5y agoI've gotten a decent number of envelopes where the flap is simply tucked into the envelope rather than any attempt being made to seal it. It's all been junk so if a few come apart they don't care. I believe there was some rate advantage to doing it that way.
- conductr 5y agoMore commonly, to deliver the letter without postage.
- samstave 5y agoI'm surprised that "People shipping pods" arent a thing... Take one of those suicide pods and modify it to support life and shipping and handling...
- parhamn 5y agoThey're called airplanes and we’ve managed to outsource half the shipping and handling to the cargo itself.
- samstave 5y agoYou dystopian heck! Obv you are correct, but thats not the answer I was looking for... I suppose the 'answer' was "how to ship myself in effectively first class for the cost of shipping a box of rocks, as opoosed to a first-class ticket" --- Sadly, what would the economies of scale be if every first class ticket was a pod insert, as opposed to a seat?
- Karunamon 5y agoMake it so I'm knocked out during the duration and I'd sign up in a heartbeat. The real killer (ha) would be finding a way to anesthetize and reawaken the general population in a safe and controlled, yet efficient, way.
- samstave 5y agoUntil this is a common form of middle-ish-class travel but is used as an effective assassination mechanism... "A delegate from the CH to the EU was extinguished due to an apparent oxygen regulator that failed and all 100 of the Chinese Delegation passed during transit due to suffocation"
- xboxnolifes 5y agoI'm not sure it would actually be cheaper than a first class ticket. I'm not very familiar with cost of shipping, so I'm going off very rough numbers her, but [1] UPS lists next day air shipping for packages over 100 pounds to be between $2 and $7 a pound. Maybe these aren't the correct numbers to use, but even if it costs $3 a pound, we're looking at $450 for a 150lb person. That's not including the weight of any accommodations. And that's assuming pretty much the low end of shipping costs for non-human accommodations. [1] https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/media/en_US/cwt-rates-preview.pdf https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/media/en_US/cwt-rates-p...
- technotarek 5y agoVelvet Underground anyone? Slightly less successful.
- technotarek 5y agoHere’s the song: https://youtu.be/mI-YiaWDgB4 https://youtu.be/mI-YiaWDgB4
- skinnymuch 5y agoFirst thought. For people not into music or this sort of indie rock music. The song is worth a listen for its innovation and sleekness at the time. The song, The Gift, is from Velvet Underground’s 2nd album in 1968. It’s long and is all spoken word. The story comes out of the left speaker and the rock music comes from the right speaker. The song is influential. The more contemporary ‘Undone – The Sweater Song’ by Weezer in 1994 is influenced by The Gift. Also has sleek rock music and a lot of spoken words.
- royaltheartist 5y agoHe mailed himself successfully in that song. It was the opening of the box where things went wrong
- tlholaday 5y agoMarcia: It’s from Waldo!
- 5y ago
- trwhite 5y agoI wonder if being exposed to the (gamma) radiation they scan some of these packages with is a consideration.
- bryanrasmussen 5y agoMaybe, I heard from Nick Fury that low levels of gamma radiation can be harmful.
- rwmj 5y agoApparently the box which Carlos Ghosn[1] travelled inside couldn't be X-rayed because it was too large. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Ghosn#Flight_from_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Ghosn#Flight_from_Japan
- hotpotamus 5y agoWhere would they scan packages with gamma? That seems too high energy for any imaging, but it's not something I'm super knowledgeable about.
- LorenPechtel 5y agoNot only that, but these days "gamma" refers to nuclear sources, "x-ray" refers to electron sources--there is no actual dividing line. Thus a gamma device can't be turned on and off, if it's got much energy you need an awful lot of shielding. I suspect they're talking about scanning *for* gamma radiation, not *with* gamma radiation. As in someone smuggling nuclear materials. (Note, however, that when you're scanning people it's another matter--when you find someone that trips the geiger counter it's probably medical, not nefarious.)
- hotpotamus 5y agoYep, I'm aware of the distinction that makes an EM wave gamma radiation, though I've heard the terms hard and soft X-rays which makes me think X-rays in gamma territory - it's all pretty exotic to me. I'm just not sure I've heard of imaging with gamma outside of orbital observatories - gotta be tricky when the wave you're trying to image can penetrate so much. But your medical comment got a laugh out of me because it reminded me when my high school physics teacher came in and held a geiger counter up to himself and it went nuts - turned out he'd just had some sort of scan with radio contrast.
- everyone 5y ago"like so many rolls of toilet paper from Amazon" Who the hell buys toilet paper from Amazon!?
- jwdunne 5y agoMy mum did but that’s only because there was an insane deal and she got 1,000 rolls for like £10. Sadly, this was right before the toilet roll shortage from panic buying before the first UK wave of Covid and she’d give them all away by that point.
- mortehu 5y agoWe buy basically everything other than hot food from Amazon. Why is toilet paper special? Going in person to a warehouse style store like a grocery store or department store is becoming a quaint experience from the past (for us at least).
- everyone 5y agoDo you live in a weird area? Like very remote or extremely low density or something? Or are you just upper class? I would assume getting all your groceries delivered from amazon would be significantly more expensive than buying them from a supermarket.
- gwbas1c 5y agoA lot of times when I go to the grocery store I compare prices. Amazon is usually similar. (With free shipping) I can either add an item to a grocery list on my phone, or I can just order it from Amazon. I might as well just order it and "be done."
- kube-system 5y agoFor a while, Amazon delivery from Whole Foods didn't have any extra fees with Prime, I believe.
- showerst 5y agoIt may be the opposite -- if you live in a city with amazon fresh, the prices are about the same as the grocery store. Various amazon sales/credits (and cashback from an amazon credit card) usually offset the delivery price. If you live somewhere where they fulfill whole foods, then those prices are the same as well. FWIW I live in a city and don't have a ton of storage space, so getting bulk prices from a warehouse store is impractical. TP and Paper towels come on subscribe and save and are cheaper than the corner store, and roughly the same as the grocery store. I still shop in person most of the time because I like to pick my produce and the substitutions tend to be a mess, but delivery is great when things are busy or we want a bigger order.
- belter 5y agoMore interesting, can we talk about the story of people successfully emailing themselves...Suggestions?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- perihelions 5y agoThat's a minor plot point in Stross' Accelerando (although it was uploaded lobsters rather than people).
- belter 5y agoSpecifically, the California spiny lobster... https://youtu.be/5FjeCBUwxx8?t=2018 https://youtu.be/5FjeCBUwxx8?t=2018
- dukeofdoom 5y ago
- hyperhopper 5y agoMakes sense. Packages dont host, provide a breeding ground for, and spread extremely contagious viruses.
- friendlydog 5y agoPeople are refuting it now but China thought that mail was dangerous around 9 days ago: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-china-disinfects-mails-packages-from-abroad-over-omicron-threat-2713960 https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-china-disinfects... Also packages contain cardboard which is often host to roaches and other plague spreaders, but we both know you were referring to a specific virus.
- LorenPechtel 5y agoFomite spread has definitely been confirmed. It's a low-probability scenario but not impossible--worth paying attention to if you have done a lot about the airborne vector, not worth looking at if you're not. It doesn't last very long out in the open--but it can last longer sealed up and longer still on cold products.
- dukeofdoom 5y agoDoesn't make sense, because the vaccine does not prevent infection. Meaning the vaccinated are getting infected at same or higher rates than unvaccinated, and spreading it just the same. Current data for Ontario. 3rd graph. Case rate per 100k. https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data?fbclid=1 https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data?fbclid=1
- hcknwscommenter 5y agoOntario is 89% fully vaccinated by your own link. In order to assess whether vaccinated are getting infected at same or higher rates (certainly untrue, but that is what you assert), you have to adjust for the fact that there are vastly more vaccinated in Ontario. A quick and dirty (but still pretty good) method is to simply multiply the "unvaccinated" numbers in "3rd graph. Case rate per 100k" by 10. If you make that adjustment it is quite clear that the unvaccinated are getting decimated by infection as compared to the vaccinated. This holds for graph 1 (in ICU) and graph 2 (in hospital) as well.
- melenaboija 5y agoThis made me think on this recent event: “ Stowaway found in South Africa plane wheel at Amsterdam airport”[1] Amazing to survive without oxygen and probably not decent clothes at that altitude for that long. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60104010 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60104010
- sandworm101 5y agoThe lack of oxygen isn't really a problem. At 30-40k feet you will likely pass out, but a few hours will not kill a healthy person. The cold certainly might, but there is enough air for basic breathing needs. Those drop-down oxygen masks on aircraft are really not necessary. If you remain calm you will probably be fine. If you panic then you will pass out and wake up once the plane descends to denser air. I'd be far more afraid of being crushed or snapped in half by the hydraulic gear. There is thinking that those oxygen masks should be removed from planes. They have likely never saved a life, but they have caused at least one crash after the oxygen generators ignited.
- melenaboija 5y agoTotally agree, being smashed by the wheel sounds dangerous. The lack of oxygen for a long period though can have severe consequences or even kill someone. That is at least in the mountain where you need more oxygen as you are moving but staying few hours in any condition at 30-40k feet still does seem a problem to me. https://climbtallpeaks.com/how-high-can-you-climb-before-you-need-oxygen/ https://climbtallpeaks.com/how-high-can-you-climb-before-you...
- sithadmin 5y ago30-40k ft is absolutely a problem. Even if you remain conscious, you're completely unable to think coherently and generally have no idea what you're doing. Stay there long enough and you will unquestionably suffer brain damage and probably death as well. SmarterEveryDay did a good video about hypoxia training that demonstrates the very rapid onset and severe effects of hypoxia at cruising altitudes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUfF2MTnqAw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUfF2MTnqAw
- cmusfan 5y agoThis is very dangerous especially if the box gets inverted. Also, you might get stuck under other cargo in a non-climate controlled storage area, or have a forklift poke into you. Mosy anyone who has worked in shipping or receiving has seen really damaged boxes.
- rsfayez 5y ago"As travel technology changed, the romantic notion of a stowaway took a hit. " not really sure what the romantic notion was about. The article definitely reminded me that What We Do in the Shadows is literally one of the finest pieces of entertainment the world has witnessed.
- brink 5y agoOne of the qualifications for being romantic is being irreversible. Once you're in that container, you can't get out until it's over.
- tcskeptic 5y agoRaMell Ross shipped himself from Rhode Island to Alabama in 2021. He has created an installation called Return to Origin currently on display at the Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans. I got to see it recently -- it is fascinating and moving. https://www.ramellross.com/Return-to-Orgin https://www.ramellross.com/Return-to-Orgin
- selimthegrim 5y agoThe Ogden Museum, it is better known as.
- tcskeptic 5y agoAh, thanks for letting me know. It was an amazing visit.
- sandworm101 5y agoEven stranger: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4555146/US-parents-legally-mailed-children.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4555146/US-parents-... "At least seven children were stamped, mailed and dutifully delivered by the service between 1913 and 1915"
- bell-cot 5y agoMaybe I'm too old, but these stories amount to "in an old rural area, where everybody knew everybody, paying postage on the kid provided a decent excuse for Post Office managers to look the other way when folks wanted an employee to escort their kid somewhere". When (a few decades later) I first started walking to kindergarten as a kid, my mother paid an older (maybe 5th grade) neighbor kid 10 cents a day to make sure I got there & back okay. (It was a bit over 1/2 mile each way, otherwise alone. And 10 cents would easily buy a full-sized candy bar back then.)
- AnimalMuppet 5y agoSee the childrens' book "Mailing May", which is (IIRC) based on a true story. They put postage stamps on a child and mailed her on a passenger train that also carried mail, because postage was cheaper than fare for a passenger. They bent the rules that allowed mailing live chicks to cover her. Tangentially related: Duchesne, Utah, wanted to build a railroad station, in the hopes of attracting a railroad. They mailed the bricks for the station to the town, because mail was cheaper than freight rates on wagons.
- JoeAltmaier 5y agoI'd remembered a couple in Alaska wanted to build a cabin up a river with no road. So they got an address assigned, then mailed the building materials a brick at a time. It became the Post Office's problem. Had to hire a boat.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- qbantek 5y agoStory is missing a few modern day examples, I still remember this one: https://www.sunjournal.com/2004/08/26/strongcuban-woman-ships-miami-airport-inside-cratestrong/ https://www.sunjournal.com/2004/08/26/strongcuban-woman-ship...