Coconut Greetings

One of my favorite bloggers, Cory Doctrow of the indispensable boingboing, took a Walt Disney World trip at the beginning of the year. I follow his Twitter* and was thrilled to see him post pictures of a souvenir postal coconut!

According to the National Postal Museum "coconut parcel post is an enduring novelty in the Hawaiian Islands, especially among tourists, who send their "wish you were here" notes via coconut postcards to mainland recipients." And Wise Geek tells us that, "Although Hawaii or other tropical locales may be the most common places from which to mail a coconut, there really are no restrictions on the practice within the United States. Anyone can literally pick up a coconut from a local grocery store and affix a mailing label to it. The local mail carriers may not be entirely thrilled to lug a coconut around all day, but it is perfectly legal to mail a coconut instead of an envelope." 

{It is, in fact, possible to send a whole lot of things through the mail. Check out these postal expiraments!}

*We're on Twitter too! @dovbee @16sparrows

Comments

[Trish]

I sent a coconut postcard from the Keys several years ago. I was incredibly thrilled but the recipient wasn't and threw it away the next day. I'm left to wonder if all Texans hate coconuts?

[Jo Kazor]

I received a coconut postcard from a friend who was in Florida. It made such an impression that I can remember the date - December 31, 1975. I kept it for over 30 years.