In 1914, You Could Mail Your Kids For 53 Cents
I hadn’t heard this one before, but think about it next time you pay $5.00 to ship your four-ounce eBay item.
From this morning’s NY Times:
“In 1914, a year after the postal service made it easier for Americans to send and receive packages, a 5-year-old girl named May was mailed from her parents’ house to her grandparents about 70 miles away. May rode in the mail-train car with the postal clerk. Because she was under the 50-pound weight limit, she cost just 53 cents to ship. Several other kids were also sent through the mail before the practice stopped.â€
14 comments
adamcartwright
·1 year ago"Sweetheart, you've been working so hard lately. I booked you a little get-away. ðŸ˜"
mantle1951
·1 year agoI wonder how much it was for mailing a full size relative?
richard1rst
·1 year agoAt the time there was a 20 pound limit. then raised to 50 pounds.
A builder in Verne Utah was building the Zion Bank and needed bricks for the exterior. It turns out that, pound for pound, parcel post was cheaper than using what we would now call a common carrier. Altogether he mailed 1500 packages at just under 50 pounds each for a final total of 37.5 tons. The postmaster was not amused.
The limit was then raised to a max of 200 pounds to a single address by a single shipper on a single day.
To this day the bank proudly calls itself "The Parcel Post Bank"
meme6253
·1 year agoLoose or in a box?
richard1rst
·1 year agoMail them to yourself for those "date nights" with your spouse. Look at the money you would save on babysitters.
nyr134
OP1 year agoAnd the little ones would probably love to ride the conveyer belts and chutes at the distribution centers.
tools*
·1 year agohttps://www.history.com/articles/mailing-children-post-office
mommaknows
·1 year ago🫣 I have this mental image of Darla from Spanky and Our Gang dangling her legs out. Nope.
Hopefully, they didn't lose any "packages."
Ps...Happy 250 years of the USPS, as of yesterday the 26th.🎉
a_c_green
·1 year agoI would be more concerned about a Not As Described claim. Imagine who you might get sent back.
meme6253
·1 year agoThere's a few kids in the neighborhood, I wouldn't mind shipping somewhere.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoA quick check online says that's approximately equal to $17.04 today. Would still be quite the bargain!
toysaver
·1 year ago"A quick check online says that's approximately equal to $17.04 today"
That doesn't include jail time for child abuse, neglect and endangerment for all parties participating.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoThat was a time when 6 year olds were already working. Different times.
silverstatetreasureboxes
·1 year ago@nyr134
My goodness what a cute story! Thanks for sharing!