# Can a person be mailed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584 "2002-10-16T22:09:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alzarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@Alzarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alzarian)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/1 "2002-10-16T22:09:23Z")
So, let’s say I want to travel somewhere, but I don’t want to mess around with the hassels of driving a car, or taking public transportation. Is getting someone to put me in a container of some kind, and mailing me a possibility in even the remotest sense? I assume there is probably something in Federal Postal Restrictions prohibiting this type of activity, and with the heightened security in our country and around the world, it wouldn’t surprise me to find it nearly impossible to get away with this and not get caught. But the idea just fascinates me. I would assume we’re talking a lot of postage, and somehow, there would have to be airholes… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/2 "2002-10-16T22:24:02Z")
The maximum weight restrictions will snag you: From [usps.com](http://usps.com): > [@](#): > > **Parcel Post** > > Used for gifts and general merchandise, may also contain books and other printed matter. **Maximum weight is 70 pounds.** The maximum size is 130 inches in combined length and distance around the thickest part. Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/3 "2002-10-16T22:41:35Z")
Would there be a restriction against live cargo? I can imagine trying to send a cat in a suitable container; that would be under the 70-pound limit. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/4 "2002-10-17T00:14:43Z")
UPS might be a better deal, but they have restrictions, too, although not as strict: 150 lbs, and 130 total inches (length + 2_width + 2_height). Anyway, assuming you weight 150 lbs and stand 5’9" (with a width and length of 10"), the following rates would apply: SERVICE TYPE 1 UPS SonicAir BestFlight Guaranteed by Same Day 1,2 UPS Next Day Air® Guaranteed by Next Day Total Rate (USD) 432.84\* UPS 2nd Day Air® Guaranteed by End of Day – 2 Days Total Rate (USD) 321.34\* UPS 3 Day Select® Guaranteed by End of Day – 3 Days Total Rate (USD) 221.55\* UPS Ground Guaranteed Day-Definite\*\*\* Total Rate (USD) 106.91\* ---
**Author:** ![Caesar\_s\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/73ab20/32.png) [@Caesar\_s\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caesar_s_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/5 "2002-10-17T00:17:15Z")
Well, in 1914, a little girl named Charlotte May Pierstorff was mailed 100 miles to Lewiston, Idaho. She was listed as a 48 pound baby chick and mailed to her grandma, and was delivered by a clerk. There’s a book about it, _Mailing May_, but I remembered it from an older book called _Amazing True Stories_. I’m guessing restrictions have increased since then. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/6 "2002-10-17T00:18:37Z")
Would your real name happen to be Waldo Jeffers? 🙂 > [@](#): > > Then it struck him: he didn’t have enough > money to go to Wisconsin in the accepted fashion, > true, but why not mail himself? It was absurdly > simple. He would ship himself parcel post special > delivery. The next day Waldo went to the supermarket > to purchase the necessary equipment. He bought > masking tape, a staple gun and a medium sized > cardboard box, just right for a person of his build. > He judged that with a minimum of jostling he could > ride quite comfortably. A few airholes, some water, a > selection of midnight snacks, and it would probably be > as good as going tourist. > **\** > Waldo felt his heart beating. He could feel the > vibrating footsteps. It would be soon. > Marsha walked around the carton and read the > ink-scratched label. “Ugh, God, it’s from Waldo!” > “That schmuck,” said Sheila. Waldo trembled with > expectation. “Well, you might as well open it,” said > Sheila. > \*\*\ \*\* > Then she sank down to her knees, > grasped the cutter by both handles, took a deep breath > and plunged the long blade through the middle of the > package, through the middle of the masking tape, > through the cardboard, through the cushioning and > (thud) right through the center of Waldo Jeffers head, > which split slightly and caused little rhythmic arcs > of red to pulsate gently in the morning sun. **-Velvet Underground - The Gift** ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/7 "2002-10-17T00:23:06Z")
Those rates, by the way, would get me from my current home to my former (from ZIP code 27909 to ZIP code 79830), so YMMV. Literally. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/8 "2002-10-17T00:28:22Z")
(Oh, and if I lost 60 lbs!) ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/9 "2002-10-17T01:01:17Z")
Wasn’t there a slave once who mailed himself north and therefore out of slavery? ---
**Author:** ![meyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@meyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meyer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/10 "2002-10-17T02:24:23Z")
Yeah, there was - I found his story here: > **[TLC - Official Site](https://www.tlc.com/)** > > Official Homepage for TLC. Watch Full Episodes FREE with your TV subscription. Get Behind the Scenes with Your Favorite Shows! Start Exploring Now! Sounds like quite the thing to do! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/11 "2002-10-17T02:24:56Z")
From my once casual reading of the Domestic Mail Manual, the only living animals that can be sent through the mail are baby chicks. You can’t mail your pet cat or hamster or parrot or ferret, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/12 "2002-10-17T03:15:51Z")
Just make sure that if you are in Wisconsin that you are not mailed to La Crosse. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/13 "2002-10-17T03:31:38Z")
Yes. There was an incident several years ago at an overseas US military base where the GI got “too friendly” with a local girl. The girl’s family did not want marriage or any monetary payment, nor legal means. They wanted him dead. There was no way he could leave the base and out of the country by normal means. He was sealed into an oversize postal bag and shipped out via official military post on the next available transport. He was made to endure the entire trans-Europe/Atlantic flights locked in the bag. It wasn’t me and I don’t know who he was. I do know who affixed the stamps and did all the postal paperwork, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![meyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@meyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meyer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/14 "2002-10-17T03:59:29Z")
So - here’s a question - why baby chicks? What makes them special? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/15 "2002-10-17T06:09:36Z")
Judging by the poor shape of many of the packages that I’ve received, I wouldn’t recommend shipping yourself surreptitiously. Even if you marked your box with warnings, I still wouldn’t do it. My company often ships PCs in properly padded boxes. On at least two occasions, the boxes haves arrived with large holes through the box, padding, and into the computer case. Presumably, the holes were caused by one of the forks of a forklift. Conclusion: Don’t ship yourself and become a Waldo Jeffers! ---
**Author:** ![speckofdust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@speckofdust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/speckofdust)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/16 "2002-10-17T07:25:30Z")
Reminds me of the story about the Parcel Post Bank [http://utahreach.usu.edu/uintah/visitor/bank.htm](http://utahreach.usu.edu/uintah/visitor/bank.htm) Basic story freighters wanted 15c a brick (80,000 bricks) from brick kiln to building site and by second zone postage 10 bricks a package they had them freighted for less than half price. 1886 I am sure the rules have changed somehwat since then. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/17 "2002-10-17T09:39:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duckster \* > \*\*Yes. > > There was an incident several years ago at an overseas US military base where the GI got “too friendly” with a local girl. The girl’s family did not want marriage or any monetary payment, nor legal means. They wanted him dead. > > There was no way he could leave the base and out of the country by normal means. He was sealed into an oversize postal bag and shipped out via official military post on the next available transport. He was made to endure the entire trans-Europe/Atlantic flights locked in the bag. > > It wasn’t me and I don’t know who he was. I do know who affixed the stamps and did all the postal paperwork, though. 😃 \*\* Sounds rather like an UL to me; wouldn’t he have had to endure a flight in an unpressurised cargo hold? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/18 "2002-10-17T09:41:24Z")
Oh and he was in a military base and they had no way to securely transport him out? really? ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/19 "2002-10-17T11:56:46Z")
I have heard that diplomatoc bags have been used to ferry bodies and people in and out of countries - UL? ---
**Author:** ![stevephillips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@stevephillips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stevephillips)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584/20 "2002-10-17T15:08:24Z")
At least some other living animals than chicks can be mailed. I’m an amateur beekeeper and routinely get replacement queen bees delivered to me by priority mail. (Usually when I get an order of queens, the post office calls me at 5:30 a.m. and tells me to get down there quick.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-person-be-mailed/132584.md?page=2)