Somoene at MAD magazine had the same idea some 35 years ago, only they had the Japanese invading.
I’ve never seen one but I’ve just checked the White Pages and there are two listed. They’re both in the suburbs, not the city.
I wonder if they’re for tourists who miss “real” Australian food.
You think it’s unique to have a child in a car seat? I’d say it’s pretty darn common, especially amongst the set of people who get stuck doing chores like mailing crap at the post office.
I am actually in agreement that American culture is too car-happy, but I think that claiming that drive-up mailboxes are a sign of the carpocalypse is overstating things. Now if you want to talk about the fact that our government thinks the best place to build post offices and social security offices is outside of downtown areas on major roads with no sidewalks, then go for it. They did that here, which is why I have to get in the car to mail letters in the very first place.
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They fear our geeky wrath if our anime DVDs take too long, and they know we don’t have far to drive.
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This cracked me up. I’m currently in the process of trying to figure out exactly which mail drop gets things to Netflix the quickest, because I NEED MY ANIME DVDS IMMEDIATELY IF NOT SOONER.
Apparently I’m in such a hurry I forgot how to code properly.
Mangetout’s position was that Americans are too lazy to be wrenched away from their car. Your position (in an attempt to invalidate his position) was that you have a child that you cannot leave the car and must use a drive-through. Of course, unless the majority of people using the post office drive through do in fact have children that they can’t leave, your argument fails.
But that doesn’t explain the drive through, at all. The point of mangetout’s argument was that you don’t want to get out of your car. Here, postboxes are roadside, you pull up, get out, post, get back in. Very similar to the drive through, except you actually have to get out of the car.
I’ve never seen one.
Neither have I. I remember seeing in a thread, (by whoever is the American in Australia) a complaint about us not having drive through ATM’s.
My partner refuses to use drive-throughs. And frankly, I have heard a lot of other people wondering what is the American obssession with drive-throughs.
Don’t you guys have a drive-through chapel in Las Vegas or something?
OK, you’re right. I am a Yank and should have said so.
And yes, I know that Outback Restaurants are American-born. By the way, I used to chat with some Aussies online and we joked that if they tried out for an Outback commercial, they’d be turned down because they didn’t sound “Aussie” enough, i.e. not Aussie enough by Hollywood standards.
I think we’d be the ones doing the crushing, being so heavy and all. Hold still…
Wow, that’s fucking stupid. According to this article, “the strategy is based on the theory that mistakes come from the order-taker, not the cook line.” As a former McDonald’s drive-thru worker, I can tell you with confidence that mistakes are as common as fucking Big Macs, and can come from anywhere. Well, not so much from me. I was more meticulous about reading back the orders to ensure accuracy, which of course lead to a lot of stress when the kitchen forgot to leave off the onions, or the other drive-thru worker handing the food out the other window grabbed the wrong bag. This theory sucks grill sludge from the grease trap.
Apparently that’s the reason why Australian actor Jesse Spencer who plays Chase on house puts on a british accent. He sounds ridiculous to us (him having been a soapie star for quite some time) but he must sound Australian to you guys :).
I think he sounds more South African.
Ah, now I get what you were saying. I wasn’t trying to invalidate his position. If I did, I wouldn’t share a useless individual data point (me being one person not representative of the average American). I quoted poorly I guess. Was just giving a :shrug: because I think that there are a ton worse ways in which Americans are car addicts, and I see no reason in particular not to have this convenience, as it works for me and others who don’t want to go into the office.
Never heard of roadside boxes without drive-up. Live and learn. All we have are inside the office or drive up. Is there really a significant advantage to making them not drive-up if you have to find a parking space and park anyway? Other than making sure people get out of the car for fifty feet of exercise year-round including snowstorms and rainstorms? Meh.
I’d go to Australia to mail my next letter, but I can’t drive there.
There is one genuine drive-through mailbox in Canberra (in Woden, for anyone familiar with the city). Only one I’ve ever seen in Australia, but of course I haven’t been everywhere.
Yeesh, good thing I don’t order Big Macs anymore!
You don’t park as much as pull up to the side of the road* (there is normally a space for more than one car in front, or it is a road with a wide long shoulder) and get out and mail. Is there an advantage? Well there wouldn’t be the problem that happens in the OP. I have never seen anyone have to wait to use the mailbox. In fact, the concept seems foreign to me, as much as waiting to use a public bin or something.