20 years ago, the US Post Office was very forgiving about mailing oddly packaged stuff, as long as it had a good address and the proper amount of postage. For example, you could write an address on a bagel, put a stamp on it, and throw it in a mailbox and it’d get to the destination. Don’t ask me how I know this.
Is it the same nowadays? Assuming what you’re mailing is not illegal and difficult to break (or, at least, as difficult as a bagel is…), will they still deliver it?
I seem to recall the difficulty with the bagel was getting them to accept it. Like, if you took it to the post office they could refuse to take it, but if you just put it in a public mailbox and it had enough postage, they would mail it just fine.
I tried Googling this, but all I got were links about what was legal/illegal to mail, not whether or not you had to put it in a box.
My wife hosted an underwater-themed baby shower, and we sent the invites in little plastic bottles (like a message in a bottle, get it?) with sand, little starfish, etc. in them. We just glued the cork in the neck, slapped labels and stamps on them, and sent them in the mail. Everyone got their invites with no problems (and they raved about them).
Given the proper postage, a legible address, and adherence to the Postal Service’s posted list of stuff you cannot mail, I can attest that they will do everything within their power to get your bagel (we used toast :D), etc., to its destination.
My cite for this information is an inside source who gets to unclog the sorting equipment every time somebody sends through a cheap gallon tin of genuine Vermont maple syrup.
Wired Magazine used to have a reader contest called “Return to Sender” in which people sent in reader mail in non-traditional forms, such as a plastic pink flamingo, a conch shell, an inflatable palm tree, etc. Some images of stuff they received are here and an NPR story on the contest is here.
