© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

The U.S. Postal Service's busiest season prompts us to revisit its curious history

USPS deliveries going out by reindeer-pulled sleigh. (USPS)
USPS deliveries going out by reindeer-pulled sleigh. (USPS)

Did you know it used to only cost $.15 to mail a human child? That’s one of the fun facts we learned from a new “A Kids’ History of the United States Postal Service” activity book.

We speak to acting postal historian Steve Kochersperger, who helped develop it.

Owney, the dog that the postal service adopted in 1888. (Courtesy of USPS)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.