# How to use the drive-thru mailbox **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 31, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418 "2006-01-31T22:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/1 "2006-01-31T22:24:43Z")
We’ve seen 'em, we use 'em…those big blue mailboxes outside the post office that let you deposit your mail from the convenience of your vehicle. Some people, however, seem mystified about how they work. So here are some pointers for those clueless legions. When you reach the box, you should: 1. Have all mail pre-stamped, pre-addressed and in hand ready to mail. 2. Deposit said mail into the aperature of that big scary-looking blue thing. 3. LEAVE!!! Don’t waste time double-checking that every letter is properly addressed to Aunt Twilly in Yahoo, Nebraska. You should have done that before you left the house, moron. Don’t bother reading the pickup times listed on the box. The mail’s gonna take a week to get there no matter what time of day it is. Unless you’re sending DVDs back to Netflix, in which case it’s 2 weeks. If you’re mailing 200 wedding invitations or something equally obnoxious, do us all a favor and GO INSIDE THE POST OFFICE to mail all that crap – or, better yet, tell your daughter you’re disowning her and will have nothing to do with that long-haired liberal freak she’s marrying. If there’s more than one box and you’re confused about which one you’re supposed to use, here’s a hint…the BIG box is usually the right one. (I don’t know why they bother putting an Express Mail box in the drive-thru anyway, since all it does is slow people down!) Do NOT just sit there like a moron. Nobody is going to change your oil, check your tires, or warn you that your rearview mirror is loose and they’re not responsible if it breaks off in the car wash. You’re not ordering a Big Mac, or a Whopper, or a Classic Double w/ cheese. Nobody is going to preach to you or sell you liquor or fill your prescription. No cute teenage girl on roller skates is going to ask you how many burger baskets you want. The movie is not going to start any time soon. And for heaven’s sake, if the person behind you gets irritated at your slothful imbecility and starts honking his horn, do NOT merely give a dismissive wave and then drive 10 mph down the narrow street that leads out of there. This is Los Angeles – people have guns in their cars! Thank you for listening, I hope this lesson has been instructive. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/2 "2006-01-31T22:29:36Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > This is Los Angeles I thought the Porn Capital was Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys/Encino. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/3 "2006-01-31T22:32:48Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I thought the Porn Capital was Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys/Encino. You live in Los Angeles, and you are going to Encino to make love to a model from Ohio for cash. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/4 "2006-01-31T22:35:28Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > (I don’t know why they bother putting an Express Mail box in the drive-thru anyway, since all it does is slow people down!) And why do they always have a row of four or five identical mailboxes?? Only one car can come through at a time…all you need is one box! If you’re worried about it filling up, get one really BIG box! ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/5 "2006-01-31T22:39:02Z")
well actually, there’s a number of drive by mail boxes that \*\*don’t \*\* work that way in my area. Not all, mind you, and not all that have several boxes. at the East Lansing MI post office, for example, there’s about 3 large drive by mailboxes. One is labeld “East Lansing Only”, so if you hadn’t been there before yes, you would have to sit in front and go through items one by one. but otherwise, sure, some ijiots shouldn’t be mailing anything to anyone anyhow. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/6 "2006-01-31T23:04:08Z")
Drive through mailboxes ? Is there anything you don’t have drive-through over there? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/7 "2006-01-31T23:08:27Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > Drive through mailboxes ? Is there anything you don’t have drive-through over there? I was about to jokingly say “liquor stores”. Then I remembered we have two of them in this town. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/8 "2006-01-31T23:11:53Z")
Hmmm. Drive through mailboxes. Check. Drive through fast food. Check. Drive through coffee shops. Check. Drive through pharmacies. Check. Drive through dry cleaners. Check. Drive through liquor stores. Check. Drive through veterinarians. Che-- Well, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/9 "2006-01-31T23:16:53Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > Drive through mailboxes ? Is there anything you don’t have drive-through over there? This reminds me of a scene in _The Gods Must Be Crazy_. A woman (in South Africa) gets into her car, drives a few meters down the road, and puts her mail in the box. (IIRC, it was a ‘drive-through’ box, so they have them in South Africa.) Do you not have mailboxes with a chute on the road-side of the box in Australia? ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/10 "2006-01-31T23:17:50Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > And for heaven’s sake, if the person behind you gets irritated at your slothful imbecility and starts honking his horn, do NOT merely give a dismissive wave and then drive 10 mph down the narrow street that leads out of there. This is Los Angeles – people have guns in their cars! This is why they freak out when I get out of my car, approach them (and the box itself), with my 6’3" Yeti-ish physique, with long purposeful strides, scowling, and go up to the same box and jam my mail in there like Carl Malone. Some take off before I get there; others just gawk like rented bench-warmers, chewing on their towels waiting for the danger to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/11 "2006-01-31T23:19:15Z")
You forgot [funeral parlors and strip clubs](http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2000/09/25/editorial2.html). On preview: That’s one of my favorite scenes in _The Gods Must Be Crazy_ (along with “Do the voices in my head bother you?”). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/12 "2006-01-31T23:19:44Z")
Drive through mailboxes. Nope. Drive through fast food. Check. Drive through coffee shops. Check. Drive through pharmacies. Nope. Drive through dry cleaners. Nope. Drive through liquor stores. Nope. Drive through veterinarians. Nope. Drive through banks - check. That’s about it for OUR drive-through experience. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/13 "2006-01-31T23:20:50Z")
Oh, wait - there are the occasional drive-through movie return slots. Those are the best. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/14 "2006-01-31T23:28:37Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Do you not have mailboxes with a chute on the road-side of the box in Australia? Yes, but the chute faces away from the road. > [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > Drive through mailboxes. Check. > Drive through fast food. Check. > Drive through coffee shops. Check. > Drive through pharmacies. Check. > Drive through dry cleaners. Check. > Drive through liquor stores. Check. > Drive through veterinarians. Che … Drive through mailboxes. Not that I have seen. Drive through fast food. Check. Drive through coffee shops. Not that I know of. It takes a while to make good coffee doesn’t a drive-through defeat the purpose? Drive through pharmacies. Nope. Drive through dry cleaners. Don’t think so. Drive through liquor stores. Yup. Drive through veterinarians. No. Drive through banks. No. Of course, there might be some in Sydney, hell, they have an outback steakhouse there! ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/15 "2006-01-31T23:31:29Z")
Well, we’ve got those new fangled drive through car washes here. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/16 "2006-01-31T23:37:36Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > Drive through banks. No. Do you at least have drive through ATMs there? ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/17 "2006-01-31T23:38:21Z")
> [@Dag Otto](#): > > Do you at least have drive through ATMs there? Why are drive through ATM’s a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/18 "2006-01-31T23:43:27Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > Why are drive through ATM’s a good thing? [They help keep Cecil busy](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_010.html). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/19 "2006-01-31T23:45:07Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Oh, wait - there are the occasional drive-through movie return slots. Those are the best. The public library in SB has drive through book return boxes. Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418/20 "2006-02-01T00:05:46Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > Of course, there might be some in Sydney, hell, they have an outback steakhouse there! Heck, we have Outback Steakhouses that may not be drive-though but you can call ahead and they’ll come running out with your order when you drive up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-drive-thru-mailbox/342418.md?page=2)