
Strange Passions: Ugandan Stamps - Thevet
http://www.theoldie.co.uk/article/strange-passions
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edge17
I grew up collecting stamps. It was a great hobby to learn about the world in
the pre-internet days. Also several countries that no longer exist.

~~~
jdnier
As a kid collecting stamps, it was the stamps from Burundi that amazed me most
for their color and imagery. What a contrast with these typewriter stamps!

~~~
edge17
It was really a fantastic hobby to have as a kid. I'm having trouble
remembering what sorts of things I had, but in particular I remember the yeti
stamps I had from Bhutan -
[https://www.google.com/search?q=bhutan+yeti+stamps&espv=2&bi...](https://www.google.com/search?q=bhutan+yeti+stamps&espv=2&biw=1248&bih=653&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi26o7O34TSAhVS6mMKHTBpAicQsAQIGQ)

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CamMacFarlane
Just a couple days ago I gained a whole new appreciation for stamps after
listening to this 99pi podcast about US stamps:

[http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-47-us-
postal-s...](http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-47-us-postal-
service-stamps/)

I found myself genuinely considering starting to collect them.

~~~
furyg3
One thing pointed out in the episode is how charging one fixed price really
binds the nation together, whether or not you are mailing something to an
address around the corner or from NYC to San Francisco (or to more remote
regions like the bottom of the Grand Canyon).

This got me thinking: How far can you send an envelope with just one
(domestic) stamp? Well it turns out that you can mail a stamp to a military
base (say, in Japan) or consulate for the same price as a domestic delivery.
But this is routed through the military / consular mail systems and feels a
bit like cheating :)

It turns out the tiny island of Palau has a US zip code (96940 - I believe it
is now an independent nation? weird). So unless there is a zip code further
east than Maine, I guess that's the longest distance you can send a letter
entirely through the USPS with one domestic stamp. - about 8,500 miles.

~~~
phaemon
If that's the case, then I think we can do a bit better in the UK, as I
believe you can send a letter from Unst (Shetlands) to the British Antarctic
Territory, which is over 10,000 miles.

Though, if there's a US station in Antarctica that has a zip code, I'd imagine
you could do better by sending from Alaska?

