Tag Archives: mail

The Dangers of Drones

A drone is an unmanned aircraft that can be controlled remotely or can fly automatically through software embedded into the system. Amazon has recently been using Amazon Air, a form of delivery using drones. The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos announced a few years ago that he wanted to use drones for fast deliveries. They also are used for military purposes when a situation is too dangerous for human flown aircraft  to enter. But, there has been some controversy over the potential safety hazards that come with them.

Drones can be very useful but really dangerous when they fly too low in the sky and come close to pedestrians. They also are known for interfering with aircrafts and causing pilots to worry. Since many of them are preprogrammed, they don’t change course when they need too. I feel that drones really are unsafe because when say an Amazon package is delivering to your house, it could hit a mailbox, house, or even a child. These drones are like flying robots and people want to allow them to just fly around in the air uncontrolled. That’s crazy! There are also no licenses yet for people who want to individually fly them and illegal drones are being flown all around the country.  Do you think drones should turn into the next delivery service?

~Molly

You’ve Got Mail! But Why is it in a Box?

Do you ever wonder, as you drive, bike, roller blade, skateboard, run, and/or walk down the road, when did we start using mail boxes? I did. While I was on my way to school, I looked out the window of the bus and started thinking. As an avid fan of “Little House on the Prairie,” I began contemplating the use of mail boxes and who invented them in the United States. So, like any other curious George, I did some research.

Albert Potts. Now before you rack your brains trying to figure who he was, you probably have no clue. He was, in fact, the man who patented the first version of a mailbox, which he called a “new and Improved combination of Letter-Box and Lamp-Post for Municipalities” on March 9, 1858. It was a place where you could drop off the mail you had to be delivered, instead of going all the way to the post office. Towns loved it, and it caught on fast. On March 9th, to this day, Albert Potts is celebrated by the National Postal Museum in the Smithsonian.

Shortly after Albert Potts’ letter box, Philip Downing patented the “public protective mailbox,” which had a lid, in 1891. This model was closer to the mailboxes we are currently using. The next year, 1892, George E. Becket created the mail slot that is permanently inserted in a persons front door. This was necessary because mail was being delivered to individual homes by then. You can still see Beckets “mail slot” today on older homes and even a few new models. Just a little history on where our mail boxes come from. So remember, next time you complain about going to get the mail, your lucky you just have to walk to the mail box and not the lamp post or the post office.

~Carson Lee Harper