I just came across a great New York Times piece on the mail service in the Victorian era. It's full of trivia: for example, did you know that in 1889 London, mail was delivered TWELVE TIMES A DAY? Read this:
In Victorian London, though service wasn't
I mean if nothing else, the need for it has just utterly collapsed. Even in a largely still print-driven country like Germany.
Parcels, that’s an entirely different thing. And you will notice that DHL, UPS, they all do at-home pickup. Or DHL and Hermes have drop of spots in what feels like every single little kiosk, bakery or ice cream parlor.
But mail? Actual, proper, snail-mail? That’s mostly on the way out, actually. It’s no longer a big need for virtually anybody. Most people I know check their physical mailbox at most once a week, sometimes once a month (since invoices arrive monthly usually).
I can’t believe that DHL is popular in most places, because in the U.S. you would be better off handing your package to a random crackhead on the street.
Here in Germany it’s more or less the best service. UPS is costly and unless you need highly insured parcels is annoying because they don’t even deliver on Saturdays.
Meanwhile Hermes is alright but they kick parcels around really badly, even more so than usual. DPD is similar but even worse, but hey, cheap in return so if you got something that’s resistant they’re an okay choice.
Some years ago, someone half the globe away announced to me he’d sent me a package that day, via DHL. It arrived at my address less than a week later. I’ve recently had packages delivered from across the country that arrived within days.
I mean if nothing else, the need for it has just utterly collapsed. Even in a largely still print-driven country like Germany.
Parcels, that’s an entirely different thing. And you will notice that DHL, UPS, they all do at-home pickup. Or DHL and Hermes have drop of spots in what feels like every single little kiosk, bakery or ice cream parlor.
But mail? Actual, proper, snail-mail? That’s mostly on the way out, actually. It’s no longer a big need for virtually anybody. Most people I know check their physical mailbox at most once a week, sometimes once a month (since invoices arrive monthly usually).
I can’t believe that DHL is popular in most places, because in the U.S. you would be better off handing your package to a random crackhead on the street.
Here in Germany it’s more or less the best service. UPS is costly and unless you need highly insured parcels is annoying because they don’t even deliver on Saturdays.
Meanwhile Hermes is alright but they kick parcels around really badly, even more so than usual. DPD is similar but even worse, but hey, cheap in return so if you got something that’s resistant they’re an okay choice.
Some years ago, someone half the globe away announced to me he’d sent me a package that day, via DHL. It arrived at my address less than a week later. I’ve recently had packages delivered from across the country that arrived within days.
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