11 Things the Post Office Does That Floridians Have No Idea About

Most Floridians think of the U.S. Post Office as the place you go to mail a package, buy a sheet of Forever stamps, and stand in a line that hasn’t moved in 11 minutes.

But the USPS has been around since 1775, and over those 250 years, it’s quietly built up a strange list of services and traditions you’ve never heard of.

Here are 11 things the post office does that most Americans have no clue about.

It Sends Mail to the Bottom of the Grand Canyon by Mule

In Arizona, the Peach Springs Post Office uses a mule train to deliver mail and supplies to the Havasupai tribe at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

The post office has walk-in freezers to keep food fresh before it heads down the trail.

Mules carry the load down a steep eight-mile route into the canyon.

It’s the last mule-train mail route in the entire United States, and it still runs today.

It Owns a Boat That Has Its Own ZIP Code

The JW Westcott is a 45-foot mail boat that floats around the Detroit River delivering mail to passing freighters and ships.

It has its very own ZIP code: 48222.

That makes it one of the only floating ZIP codes in the country.

Ship captains drop a bucket on a rope, the Westcott crew loads the mail in, and the bucket goes back up.

You Can Mail a Coconut Without a Box

The USPS will let you mail a coconut as-is. Just write the address on the shell, slap on the right postage, and drop it at the counter.

The same goes for a potato. Yes, a potato.

People in the know do it as a joke gift, and the post office processes them like any other piece of mail.

Hawaii tourist shops sell pre-addressed coconuts as souvenirs, and they get mailed back to the mainland every single day.

It Runs Operation Santa, and You Can Write Back

Every year, kids across America mail letters to Santa Claus at 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888.

The USPS Operation Santa program has been running for over 100 years.

The cool part: you can sign up online, browse anonymous letters, and adopt one to fulfill the wish.

It’s like the world’s oldest charity matching system, and many people have no idea it exists.

It Shows You Your Mail Before It Arrives

USPS Informed Delivery is a free service that emails you grayscale scans of your letter mail before it lands in your mailbox.

You sign up online, USPS verifies your address, and every morning you get a Daily Digest with images of what’s coming.

You can preview junk mail, bills, and birthday cards all before the mail truck even pulls up.

There’s also a mobile app. It’s been around for years, and most folks have never heard of it.

It Delivers to Dock-Side Mailboxes by Boat in Alabama

In Magnolia Springs, Alabama, the post office uses a 15-foot mail boat to deliver to 176 dock-side mailboxes along a 31-mile stretch of river.

The boat pulls up to each dock, the carrier drops the mail in the waterfront mailbox, and the route keeps moving.

It’s been running since 1915, making it the only year-round river delivery route in the country.

It’s the Oldest Federal Law Enforcement Agency in America

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service was founded in 1775, which makes it older than the country itself.

It’s older than the FBI, older than the DEA, and older than the U.S. Marshals.

Postal Inspectors carry badges, make arrests, and investigate mail fraud, identity theft, and drug trafficking through the mail.

When you hear “don’t mess with the post office,” that’s not a joke. Federal mail crimes carry up to three years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

It Owns One of the Largest Vehicle Fleets in the World

The USPS operates more than 227,000 vehicles, which makes it one of the largest civilian fleets on the planet.

Those boxy little white mail trucks with the steering wheel on the right side are called LLVs, and they’ve been on the road since the late 1980s.

New electric versions started rolling out a couple of years ago.

For comparison, FedEx and UPS combined have fewer vehicles than the post office.

It Helped Bring the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian

In 1958, jeweler Harry Winston donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian.

He didn’t hire an armored car. He didn’t charter a plane.

He mailed it by Registered Mail in a brown paper package.

Postage cost $2.44, plus $142.05 for a million-dollar insurance policy.

The diamond arrived safely in Washington, D.C., and the Smithsonian still has the original wrapping.

It Delivers FedEx and UPS Packages to Your House

Both FedEx and UPS pay the USPS to handle the final leg of delivery on hundreds of millions of their ground packages every year.

It’s called “last mile” service.

The big carriers move the package most of the way, then hand it off to your local mail carrier for the final drop-off at your door.

That’s how a UPS or FedEx package sometimes shows up in your regular mailbox. The post office is running the last mile.

It’s Funded Almost Entirely Without Tax Dollars

Most Americans assume the USPS runs on taxpayer money.

It doesn’t.