Now there is proof that less paper mail could actually lead to less mailboxes in your neighborhood. The recent issue of Minneapolis Observer Quarterly reprinted a curious report from the Twin Cities Daily Planet on the little-known dangers of density testing—a monitoring process the USPS performs in order to determine if a mailbox generates enough mail to warrant its existence. One poor resident learned of this process the hard way: 

James Rodriguez was on his way to work, and had in his hand several Netflix movies he wanted to drop in the mailbox. The only problem was, when he reached 3rd Avenue and 1st street, where he always dropped off his mail, the mailbox wasn’t there. “Am I trippin?” Rodriguez recalled later saying to himself. “Where’s my mailbox?!”

Luck would have it that Rodriguez spotted a mail carrier on that same block. “Dude, can you take this?” Rodriguez asked the mail carrier. He apologized, saying he didn’t know what happened to his usual mailbox.

The mail carrier looked over to where the old mail box used to be, and was no longer there. “Holy S-” Rodriguez said the carrier exclaimed. “Where’s the mailbox? I’m supposed to pick up from that mailbox!”

Just remember, it’s never too late to start a letter writing revival. You can keep in touch with your friends and save yourself the extra time of looking for a new drop-off location.

Sources: Minneapolis Observer Quarterly, Twin Cities Daily Planet

Image by NJ Tech Teacher, licensed under Creative Commons. 

The bottled water industry has been quite busy sweet-talking consumers into disregarding the environmental impacts of their product. But in certain cities, like London and Minneapolis, their message is running up against robust campaigns to make tap water trendy.

Style is strategy across the pond, where Londoners will soon sip their city’s tap water from a “signature serving vessel” designed to rival even the prettiest packaging of bottled water, according to World Changing. Selected from a design contest as part of the city’s London on Tap campaign, the sleek carafe will be produced and sold to London restaurants, bars, and hotels as the vehicle to deliver tap water to patrons. “Though a gimmick for sure,” writes Julia Levitt for World Changing, “the contest is a smart way to bring high style and sophistication to simple tap water, which is both less expensive and less wasteful than bottled water.”

Minneapolis is also marketing its water to residents with an $180,000 campaign set to run throughout 2009. The effort is part of a “progressive citywide campaign to cut down on waste,” according to the Twin Cities Daily Planet, and will attempt to build loyalty to the tap water brand by pushing its high quality and environmental advantages.  

Image by Rickard Berggren, licensed under Creative Commons.