Since it cost only 47 cent to shuttle a alphabetic character across the country , you ’d think we ’d be well-chosen to follow a yoke of elementary rules without necessitate a lot of questions . It seems reasonable enough that the United States Postal Service postulation we place postage stamps on theupper - right field cornerof envelope and other materials . Still , we wonder : Why not the lower right ? Or upside - down ? Who decided on the upper right wing ?
“ When postage stamp mold were first issue in this county in 1847 , there appears to have been a peachy deal of confusion over how to use them and perhaps also where to localize them , at least for a time , ” Daniel Piazza , Chief Curator of Philately at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum , tellsmental_floss . “ Placement was less important in the days when all stamp were mitt - cancel severally by postal clerk . With the presentation of high - speed cancelling machines starting in about the nineties , the placement of stamps in the upper - right corner became more important to be as effective as possible . ” It ’s believed that emplacement coincide with the dominant hand — the right hand — of most mail handlers .
Now that mechanization has given land to optical scanning at mail service distribution centers , you may rebel against stamp placement if the urge strike . According to Sue Brennan , a fourth-year public relations congressman with the USPS , automatic mail - sorters count for stamps so they can implement a postmark . If the stamp is n’t in the upper - right corner , it may get diverted to a pair of human eyes to bet for stamp elsewhere on the gasbag . “ Your letter would n’t be have out if you did n’t follow the guidelines , ” she say , “ but using them could speed up the processing and subsequent obstetrical delivery . ”
get creative with the pestle ’s orientation does n’t really matter , either . At least , not to postal prole . During the Victorian geological era , unseasoned lover who fear their post being intercepted by disapproving parentsdeveloped a codethat hide covert messages allot to postage placement . An upside - down stamp might mean the sender eff the recipient , while a sideways stamp could have indicate they were being relegate to the champion zone . Variations of the organisation are still being used today by loved one drop a line to prison inmate , who are also capable to postal service review . While letter carriers might sigh if they see an upside - down impression , your playpen crony may grow downright pensive .
