World Post Day is celebrated on October 9, the day the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was founded in 1874 in Bern, Switzerland. The holiday was officially established in 1969 at the UPU Congress in Tokyo, Japan.

World Post Day is an opportunity to celebrate the contribution of the postal sector to society and to the socio-economic development of countries.

We present to your attention amazing postal records and facts.

1. In the UK, in the village of Sanquhar, the oldest post office in the world is located. It has been in operation for 311 years, since 1712. In second place is the post office in Stockholm, which has been operating since 1720.

Photo: thevoicemag.ru

2. In 1913, in the United States, some parents managed to send their children by post, using the service for sending poultry and other livestock weighing up to 22,68 kilograms. Such a departure cost less than a dollar, which was several times cheaper than a train ticket. In 1914, a decree was issued prohibiting postmasters from accepting children for shipment. However, at that time several families had already managed to use the service. So, for 15 cents a little boy was sent to his grandmother.

The children were packed in special post bags, and their clothes were stamped. During the trip, postal couriers looked after the child.

3. London post offices regularly receive letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes, who lives at 221B Baker Street.

4. A postage stamp featuring Pluto, launched on a rocket in 2006, traveled a record distance of 5 250 843 896 kilometers. The New Horizons spacecraft reached the dwarf planet's orbit in July 2015.

5. Alan Foreman sent the longest letter in the world to his wife Janet in 1984. It consisted of 1 402 344 words.

6. The first postage stamp featuring a woman was issued in the United States in 1893. It depicted Queen Isabella of Spain.

7. Vanuatu, a Pacific country, has the world's only post office located under water. It is open to tourists who can send postcards and letters directly from the seabed.

8. In 1929, the UK postal service experienced a breakdown. As a result, the postcard sent that year did not reach the recipient until 2008. This is the longest mail delivery time in history.

9. India has the largest postal network in the world - 155 thousand post offices.

10. Japanese politician Wichi Noda wrote 1307 letters to his wife Mitsu from his trips abroad. The letters, consisting of 50 thousand hieroglyphs, were published in 25 volumes on 12 404 pages.

It is interesting that even in the age of high technology, many people prefer to use postal services.

A representative of the “Turkmenpost” postal service company spoke about what the post office can offer to the modern consumer.

“Turkmenpost” branches provide a full range of postal services, including delivery of letters, parcels, as well as subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. At post offices, residents of Turkmenistan can purchase telecards from the satellite and online television operator Älem TV, stationery, arrange a “door-to-door” courier service, send/receive postal money orders and much more.

It is worth noting that the “Turkmenpost” network includes more than 160 branches and postal service points throughout Turkmenistan. Post offices are a reliable delivery system that works quickly and efficiently, both within the country and abroad.

You can find the addresses of “Turkmenpost” post offices on the official website of the company post.tm.

Resources: www.un.org; gazetaingush.ru