Human mail

Last updated
The Resurrection of Henry Box Brown at Philadelphia - a lithograph by Samuel Rowse showing the emergence of Henry Box Brown from a packing crate. Boxbrown.jpg
The Resurrection of Henry Box Brown at Philadelphia a lithograph by Samuel Rowse showing the emergence of Henry Box Brown from a packing crate.

Human mail is the transportation of a person through the postal system, usually as a stowaway. While rare, there have been some reported cases of people attempting to travel through the mail.

Contents

Real occurrences

Mailing children

Charlotte May Pierstorff was mailed from Grangeville to Lewiston, Idaho on February 19, 1914, since her weight of
.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}
48+1/2 lb (22.0 kg) was within the legal 50 pound limit at the time. Charlotte May Pierstorff.jpg
Charlotte May Pierstorff was mailed from Grangeville to Lewiston, Idaho on February 19, 1914, since her weight of 48+12 lb (22.0 kg) was within the legal 50 pound limit at the time.

The mailing of people weighing less than 50 pounds (23 kg), i.e., children, was occasionally practiced due to a legal ambiguity when the United States first introduced domestic parcel post in 1913, but was restricted by 1914. The children were carried along by mail carriers, but were not put in boxes. [16] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post office</span> Customer service facility of a postal system

A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional services, which vary by country. These include providing and accepting government forms, and processing government services and fees. The chief administrator of a post office is called a postmaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Parcel Service</span> American package delivery company

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has expanded to become a Fortune 500 company and one of the world's largest shipping couriers. UPS today is primarily known for its ground shipping services as well as the UPS Store, a retail chain which assists UPS shipments and provides tools for small businesses. UPS offers air shipping on an overnight or two-day basis and delivers to post office boxes through UPS Mail Innovations and UPS SurePost, two services that pass on packages to the United States Postal Service for last-mile delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Package delivery</span> Type of delivery service

Package delivery or parcel delivery is the delivery of shipping containers, parcels, or high-value mail as single shipments. The service is provided by most postal systems, express mail, private courier companies, and less-than-truckload shipping carriers. Package delivery is different in each country, and how packages are delivered is closely connected with the cost for delivering to that country as well as population. In 2019, China, The United States, and Japan were the leaders in package delivery while Latvia, Macau, and Iceland were the bottom three. The population of the bottom three barely totals 2 million while the population of the top three tops totals more than 2 billion. Package delivery is an every day occurrence in the US while many other countries do not have this luxury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stowaway</span> One who transports oneself surreptitiously

A stowaway or clandestine traveller is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship, an aircraft, a train, cargo truck or bus.

<i>Ernest Saves Christmas</i> 1988 US Christmas comedy film by John Cherry

Ernest Saves Christmas is a 1988 American Christmas comedy film directed by John Cherry and starring Jim Varney. This is the third film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell, the second film in the Ernest series, and the highest-grossing film in the Ernest series. The film chronicles Ernest's attempt to help find a replacement for an aging Santa Claus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cargo</span> Goods or produce transported

In transportation, freight refers to goods conveyed by land, water or air, while cargo refers specifically to freight when conveyed via water or air. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in case of goods in the cold-chain, because the perishable inventory is always in transit towards a final end-use, even when it is held in cold storage or other similar climate-controlled facilities, including warehouses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Box Brown</span> American slave, later abolitionist speaker and showman

Henry Box Brown was a 19th-century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate in 1849 to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<i>Creepshow</i> 1982 horror comedy anthology film by George A. Romero

Creepshow is a 1982 American horror comedy anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King, making this film his screenwriting debut. The film's ensemble cast includes Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E. G. Marshall, and Viveca Lindfors, Ted Danson and Ed Harris, as well as King himself. The film was primarily shot on location in Pittsburgh and its suburbs, including Monroeville, where Romero leased an old boys' academy to build extensive sets for the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diplomatic bag</span> Transported package of a diplomatic mission, exempt from inspection or seizure

A diplomatic bag, also known as a diplomatic pouch, is a container with certain legal protections used for carrying official correspondence or other items between a diplomatic mission and its home government or other diplomatic, consular, or otherwise official entity. The physical concept of a "diplomatic bag" is flexible and it can take many forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia Post</span> Australian postal service

Australia Post, formally known as the Australian Postal Corporation, is a Commonwealth government-owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is located on Bourke Street, Melbourne, above the Bourke Street Post Office.

An expressman refers to anyone who has the duty of packing, managing, and ensuring the delivery of any cargo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel W. Rowse</span> American illustrator, lithographer and painter

Samuel Worcester Rowse was an American illustrator, lithographer, and painter. He was most famous for his drawings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Rowse is also well known for his lithograph, The Resurrection of Henry Box Brown at Philadelphia.

Brian Robson is notable for having mailed himself in a crate from Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, California in the late 1960s.

John Owen Henry Brown DCM was a Quartermaster Sergeant in the Royal Artillery in the British Army, who served in France at the beginning of the Second World War. He was one of Britain's most successful espionage agents as a prisoner of war following his capture by German forces, and, following the war's conclusion, acted as a prosecution witness in trials for treason.

<i>Love Matters</i> (film) 2009 Singaporean film

Love Matters is a Singaporean comedy film written and directed by Jack Neo and Gilbert Chan, and produced by Neo Studios, MM Studios & Grand Brilliance

<i>Hong Kong 97</i> 1994 American film

Hong Kong '97 is a 1994 American political action thriller film directed by Albert Pyun starring Robert Patrick, Brion James and Tim Thomerson. The story revolves around the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China. An assassin kills several high-ranking Chinese officials and must get out of the country quickly before he himself is murdered.

Reginald James "Reg" Spiers is an Australian former athlete who competed in the javelin throw at the 1962 Commonwealth Games, before his later conviction on drug smuggling charges. He is best known for successfully posting himself in a box from England to Australia to avoid paying for a plane ticket.

Driver was a clipper ship, constructed for David Ogden et al in 1854 at Newburyport, Massachusetts. She sailed between New York and Liverpool carrying immigrants to the US for the Red Cross Line. She was lost at sea with no known survivors after setting sail from Liverpool 12 February 1856. 377 died.

John Victor McSorley, is a male former athlete who competed for England.

<i>Wife of a Spy</i> 2020 film

Wife of a Spy is a 2020 Japanese spy drama film directed and co-written by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Starring Yū Aoi and Issey Takahashi, the film is set in Japan during World War II, and centers on a wife who starts suspecting that her husband may be a spy for the United States.

References

  1. Henry Box Brown, b. 1816. "Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself full text of the Narrative" . Retrieved 30 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 Adams, Cecil (30 December 2005). "Special Delivery: Can a live person be packed in a shipping crate and mailed?". Straight Dope . Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  3. Railway Official Gazette. 1895. p. 182. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. Expressman's Monthly. Express Gazette. 1894. p. 9. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  5. Expressman's Monthly. Express Gazette. 1893. p. 183.
  6. Foley Mendelssohn, Deirdre (2010-09-14), "The Eccentric Englishman", The New Yorker
  7. McSorley: Out Of The Box: The Highs and Lows of a Champion Smuggler. Roaring Forties Press. 2014 ISBN   978-1-938901-32-4
  8. Spiers, Reg (Nov 10, 1964). "Human air Freight Ticketed With Luck In Trip 'Down Under'". Toledo Blade. p. 1 via Google Newspapers.
  9. Zhou, Naaman (2021-04-08). "Thinking inside the box: the Welsh teen who tried to post himself home from Australia". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  10. Hannaford, Alex (2004-08-29). "The crate escape". The Guardian.
  11. "Federal charge filed against man who shipped himself in crate". U.S. Department of Justice . 10 September 2003. Archived from the original on 2005-05-25. Retrieved 3 January 2006.
  12. "Inmate escapes German jail in box". BBC News . 14 November 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  13. Farrier, John (16 December 2008). "Prisoner Escapes Jail by Mailing Himself out in a Box" . Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  14. "Chinese man couriers himself to girlfriend as a prank, almost dies". The Times of India. 2012-08-31. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  15. "Precious Packages-America's Parcel Post Service". National Postal Museum.
  16. "February 2015 Newsletter of the Central Florida Stamp Club" (PDF). www.centralfloridastampclub.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23.
  17. Lewis, Danny. "A Brief History of Children Sent Through the Mail". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-18.