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Relic of the Past

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

You put stamps on a small package, drop it in the mail slot and....it comes back to you, 
undelivered.

Why?

You used stamps, it weighed more than 13 ounces, and you didn't give it to a postal clerk.

It's a leftover from the Unabomber case. Ted Kaczynski mailed package bombs to his victims 
in the late 20th Century, using stamps and leaving the mail for pickup. The bombs killed 
three people and injured almost two dozen others.

There have been no Unabomber incidents since Kaczynski was caught 15 years ago, but the 
rule is still in effect.

Why do stamp collectors care? First of all, many of us think stamps SHOULD be used to mail 
letters and packages, their actual purpose. Second, many of us have extra stamps that we 
don't need and want to use up. 

So why is this rule still in force? It's probably mostly inertia.....and there's no real 
incentive for the Postal Service to let people use stamps. After all, we've already paid 
for them. Why use them on MAIL?

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamps collecting, 
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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