Mail

The mail or post is a way to send postcards, letters, and parcels to each other from far away. It helps people share messages and items over long distances. This service has been used for many years to connect families, friends, and businesses.

Since the mid-19th century, most countries have created postal systems, often run by the government. These systems charge a small fee for sending mail. This fee is shown with a postage stamp on the envelope. Bigger mailings might use a postage meter instead.

Many postal services do more than just deliver letters. In some places, they also help with saving money, giving out passports, and managing telephone and telegraph services. The Universal Postal Union (UPU), started in 1874, brings together many countries. It makes sure mail can travel safely between nations. It is a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, helping set the rules for sending mail between countries.

Etymology

The word mail comes from the Middle English word male, which meant a bag for carrying things. Over time, mail came to mean the letters that were carried in these bags. In the United Kingdom, letters sent to other countries were called mail, while letters for nearby places were called post. The word Post comes from an Old French word, which traces back to a Latin verb meaning 'to lay down or place'.

The term email, short for "electronic mail", began in the 1970s. The phrase snail mail was later used to describe the slower, physical delivery compared to email.

History

The practice of sending messages through messengers goes back to when people first learned to write. Formal postal systems came later. One of the earliest organized courier services was in Egypt, where Pharaohs used couriers to send orders around 2400 BCE. The oldest surviving piece of mail is also from Egypt, from 255 BCE.

The Achaemenid Empire created one of the first real postal systems. The Persian king Cyrus the Great organized couriers to carry messages across his kingdom. Later, Darius the Great improved the system by building the Royal Road to help couriers travel quickly from Susa in Iran to Sardis in Turkey. Couriers would change horses at stations to keep moving fast.

Rome had a well-organized postal service called the cursus publicus, started by Augustus Caesar. It used fast horses and light carriages for government messages. Later, a service for ordinary people was added too.

Other ancient civilizations, like the Mauryan Empire in India and the Han dynasty in China, also developed their own postal systems. These systems helped rulers send messages quickly over long distances.

Modern mail

Modern mail is organized by national and private services. These services work together through international rules. You can send paper letters and parcels to almost any country easily and cheaply. The Internet has made sending messages almost instant, so many people now use email instead of letters.

Some countries run their mail services as public groups. The worldwide postal system is managed by the Universal Postal Union. This group sets international postage prices and creates rules for postage stamps. Most countries use codes like ZIP codes to help deliver mail. Mail delivery became faster in the 20th century with the use of airplanes. The first scheduled airmail flight happened in the United Kingdom in 1911.

Before the mid-19th century, mail was often sent without payment, and the receiver had to pay. Today, the most common way to pay for mail is by buying adhesive postage stamps. Some companies use special machines to make postage-prepaid envelopes, a method called franking. The U.S. Postal Service started a system in 1998 that lets companies send digital franks over the Internet. The Royal Mail in the United Kingdom started its SmartStamp system in 2004. This system allows printing on adhesive labels or envelopes.

The privacy of letters is important, and in many places, laws protect it. However, there are some times when mail might be opened by helpers or checked for unsafe materials. During wars, military mail is sometimes checked to keep important information safe. New ways of talking, like the telegraph, telephone, and email, have reduced the use of paper mail for many things. But physical mail is still used for legal signatures and sending small objects.

Postage stamps are popular to collect, and many people enjoy the hobby of stamp collecting, also called philately. Postcards are also popular to collect. Letters can be studied as literature, and some famous letters are well-known today.

Types

Letters

Letter-sized mail is the most common type of mail people send. It is usually paper printed on A4 or Letter-sized paper and put in envelopes.

Handwritten letters used to be very common for sharing messages far away, but today, people more often use phones or email. Some people still like to write letters because it feels more personal and thoughtful. For example, someone might write a letter to comfort another person who is sad.

Bills and invoices from companies like utility providers are often sent through the mail. These usually come with an envelope already addressed for easy return payment. Though many people now pay bills online, some still get paper bills.

New credit cards and their personal identification numbers are mailed to customers, but the card and PIN arrive separately for security.

First-Class Mail in the U.S. includes postcards, letters, and large envelopes. Letters must weigh less than 3.5 ounces, and large envelopes less than 13 ounces. First-Class Mail gets priority delivery over other types of mail.

Postal cards and postcards

Postal cards and postcards are small cards sent through the mail without envelopes. Postal cards often come from the postal service with the stamp already printed, while postcards are usually made by companies and need a stamp added. Postcards often show pictures of places or have funny messages and leave space for a short note from the sender.

Postcards are also used by magazines for new subscriptions. Readers can fill out a card inside a magazine and mail it back to get a subscription.

Other mail services

Small packets are usually less than 2 kg (4 lb).

Larger envelopes made of stronger material are used by businesses to send important documents like legal papers that can’t be folded or damaged.

Packages can also be sent through postal services, but they often need extra postage. Postal services have rules about what can be sent in packages, especially for things that could be dangerous.

Newspapers and magazines are also sent through the mail. Some magazines have special barcodes for easy processing, while others are wrapped to protect items inside.

Hybrid mail, also called L-mail, is when mail is sent electronically from a computer directly to a Postal Service. This helps speed up sorting and delivery.

Business model

The business model of modern postal services has four main steps: collection, sorting, transportation, and delivery. Collection means gathering mail from places like homes, post boxes, and post offices. The mail is then taken to sorting centers without being sorted right away.

Sorting organizes mail into groups based on where it needs to go. This can be done by hand or with machines. Transportation moves the mail between sorting centers until it gets closer to its final destination. Delivery is when mail is brought to its final location, such as a letter box. This last step can be challenging, so postal services work to make it more efficient.