Parcel Post Service was inaugurated in the US in 1913. Soon after, Mr. W. H. Coltharp wanted to build a new bank building in Vernal, Utah. He needed 80,000 bricks that were made about 120 miles away. The freight costs for shipping the bricks was four times what they were worth! So Coltharp decided to take advantage of Parcel Post and mail the bricks. No matter that the bricks had to be packed in crates of 50 pounds or less, and had to be taken on a 400-mile route -it was still the cheapest way to send them! Link -Thanks, Tony!
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What about hamsters?
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I recall reading somewhere that soon after the inauguration of Parcel Post service, the Postmaster General had to make a rule to prevent children from being mailed. I guess a couple had been...
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it would've been cooler if the bricks were used to build a post office
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On a smaller scale, this kind of thing can still be done. If you're moving to a distant new town to study at a university, just mail yourself your books, clothes and other stuff that would cost you a lot of money to bring on the airplane.
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