10 Most Bizarre Things Ever Sent Using Postal Services

From Kids and slaves to human ears and bank buildings, these are some of the most bizzare things that people have sent using postal services. One fan even sent an actor his severed ear.

1) 25,000 Sea Turtle Eggs

Source = Poultryshowcentral

These were only delivered about 4 years ago after a great tragedy would’ve seen their population obliterated if it weren’t for postage. A massive oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico polluted the water these turtles called home, so the eggs found all over the place were scooped up and shipped off to the Atlantic Coast in Florida.

2) Diseases

Source = Statnews

The late 1800s in New York City, Daisy James from the New York post office noted that physicians delivered various strains of disease to the national Health Board, including smallpox, scarlet fever and diphtheria frequently, all over the country.

3) 3100 Carat Diamond Worth $2 Billion

Source = Cutratediamonds

The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality diamond ever found. It was 3,100 carats—around 0.6 kilograms (1.3 lb). Discovered in South Africa, the diamond was bought for the then-huge sum of £150,000 as a gift for King Edward VII.

In an elaborate scheme to mislead the thieves a decoy was shipped in a safe with security while  the real Cullinan Diamond was placed in a cardboard box with three shillings postage and sent to England.

4) Bees, Chickens, And Scorpions

Source = Wordpress

You can't send cats, bricks or children through the mail anymore, but there are still quite a few live animals that are indeed legal and deliverable. These include bees, scorpions, chickens, animals smaller than 20 inches, and fish.

5) Bricks Of Protest

Source = Funkydelivery

This is something you can send to anyone, right now, and it’s perfectly legal – if you ask the post office to send it, they’re legally obliged to do so. In some parts of the world you don’t even need to package it, just slap on a label, a stamp and hand it in at the local post office.

6) Bank Building In Installments

Source = Zionsbank

In 1916, William H. Coltharp was going to build a brick bank in Vernal, Utah. The bricks he wanted were 127 miles away in Salt Lake City, and he calculated the best way to send them – all 80,000 – was via US mail.

He had crates packed under the 50 lb limit, 40 at a time, for a total of 40 tons. The Utah post office was overwhelmed, but did indeed deliver the entire “building."

7) Children

Source = Mumblog

In 1913, the parcel postage system officially begun in the U.S, and so people immediately began to test the limits of what types of packages could be sent.

A couple from Ohio realised they could send their son via parcel instead of by train in order to save money, so they paid for stampage and insured the kid for $50 – because apparently that’s what a human life is worth.

8) Slave Mailed To Freedom

Source = Medium

Henry Brown was a slave that came up with the ingenious plan to mail himself to freedom, by shoving himself in a wooden crate and getting shipped to Philadelphia.

9) Pieces Of Titanic

Over 90 tons of the famed unsinkable ship was sent via FedEx from Milan, Italy all the way to Atlanta, Georgia.

They did it for the “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” showcasing bits and pieces of the Titanic wreckage in a public museum, often travelling all over the world to do so.

10) Severed Ear

Source = Sickchirpse

In 2013, actor and musician Jared Leto revealed on a morning radio show that the strangest fan mail he ever received was a severed ear. He said: “That was very strange. A whole ear. The Van Gogh move.” The ear also included a note that read, “Are you listening?”