Friday FactsWhat country had the first documented courier service in 2400BC? |
Egypt. Pharaohs used couriers in Egypt for sending their written documents.
 The world's first adhesive postage stamps were introduced in the UK in what year? |
1840. This was preceded by the introduction, on 10 January 1840, of uniform inland letter rates, which replaced the previous, cumbersome system of charging by distance as well as weight. The Penny Black was introduced in May 1840.
| The word 'mail' comes from which medieval english word that means 'travelling bag'? |
Male. It was often spelled 'male' until the 17th century but is etymologically unrelated to the word denoting a gender.
| What colour are Deutsche Post boxes in Germany? |
Yellow. Even the mail man's bicycles are yellow.
| What was the name of the courier service in the USA that started in 1852 and was the predominant delivery service at the time? |
Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo was later followed by Pony Express. FEDEX and UPS are the modern day USA postal services.
| UPS is the abbreviation for what company? |
United Parcel Service. The UPS name was adopted in 1919 but the company started in 1907 as the American Messenger Company. It was set up by two teenagers.
| Marcophily is the study of which area of postal history? |
Postmarks. It fully applies to postmarks, cancellations and postal markings.
| Even though Royal Mail was founded in 1516, it was only made available to the public during the reign of which english monarch? |
King Charles I. Charles I made the service public on 31st July 1635.
| 'Mail Rail' was the name for the London Post Office Underground railway system. It opened in 1927, but when did it close? |
2003. It closed in 2003 because it was more expensive to run than using the roads above.
| What is the name of the stamp that sold for a record $2.3 million dollars in 1996 and was sold again for a higher but undisclosed sum in 2010? |
Treskilling yellow. It's extremely rare as the Swedish Treskilling is normally printed in a blue-green colour.