CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter March,
March , 2023

The U.S.A.’s Postal Service (the PostOffice) was created way back in 1775, but it
wasn’t until January 1st 1913 that theParcel Post Service was introduced,
allowing customers to send parcels andpackages weighing 4 pounds (1.8 kg) ormore (up to a maximum of 50 pounds or22.6 kg) through the regular post. Privatedelivery companies were operating at thetime, but this decision by the Postal Service
allowed people to send large items toanywhere the Postal Service normallyoperated, including rural areas.
At first there were very few guidelines as
to exactly what could or couldn’t be posted.
This meant that people could send virtually
anything through the Post with hardly any
limits on size or weight.
So, thinking out of the box (no punintended), people at that time began to get“creative” with Uncle Sam’s new Parcel
Service. They began to “saddle” the poor
postmen with all kinds of “parcels” toElladeliver. Eggs, butter, live seafood. bricks,snakes and other animals, to name just afew, were among the unlikely items people
Janiswanted
sent through this new service.
Take for example W. H. Coltharp, anenterprising builder from that era. In aneffort to cut costs, he decided to post 40
tons of bricks 127 miles (about 204.3 Km) in
50 pound packages (the max weight allowed) toa buildingsiteinVernal,
Utahwhere hewasbuilding a
The bank that was delivered through the Parcel Post bank!

But perhaps the most bizarre example of“human ingenuity” concerning the newParcel Post was accomplished mere weeks after
this new service was introduced. Mr. and Mrs.
Jesse Beauge of Ohio are
the first on record tohave spotted a bargain
and used this newservice to “post” theirinfantsonto
hisgrandmother’shouse,some 1½Km away, forjust 15 cents (about$3.72 or ¥500 in today’smoney). The story madeit into the newspapers
and soon others followed.
Probably the most
famous case was that of
May Pierstorff. In 1914, A staged, mock-up photograph ofwith the appropriate 52 a letter carrier delivering a baby.
cents worth of parcel post stamps affixed toher clothing, her parents posted her to her
grandparents, some 187 Km away… muchcheaper than sending her by passenger train.
Her adventure inspired the publication of achildren’s book, “Mailing May”.
Her unusual journey
also came to the attentionof the Postmaster General
who promptly put a ban on“mailing people” from thatday forth. Nevertheless,the practice persisted forsome years before it finally
May Pierstorff was 5 when in petered out.
February, 1914, she was mailed
So, here’s to “thinkingby her parents in Idaho tonearby relatives.
outside the box!” … always…
NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
For the official Smithsonian records go here:
https://postalmuseum.si.edu/very-special-deliveries

Joshua Says: There is a question in linguists that has me worried enough tospend considerable time pondering the implications. Whatever the final
answer, or answers, turns out to be (assuming an answer is even possible),this issue has huge significance to any second language learner. Does thelanguage we think in, as we are communicating, affect the way we perceive
and understand the world around us, including what is being said to us?
Junko Says: I love drinking Cinnamon Tea at night. Did you know it’s the world’s number
one healthiest spice? Here are some of the benefits I recently found in an article: It’s high inantioxidants, relieves inflammation, protects against heart disease, stabilizes blood-sugar,
fights infection and viruses, promotes healthy skin, reduces the symptoms of allergies, acts as anatural preservative, and you can use it as a sweetener instead of sugar. I highly recommend it.
Check out this site for more info: https://draxe.com/nutrition/health-benefits-cinnamon/
Marek Says: Spring is afoot, everybody! Plum and cherry blossoms enticewith their beautiful flowers and, for a moment, it is easier to forget aJapanese cedar pollen allergy descending on most of us and enjoy the finer
things early Spring has to offer. It is my most anticipated time of the year andevery weekend I head off to the mountains to spot, photograph and admire
nature coming back to life once more. I encourage all of you to do so, too!
Mandcy dit: Parlez-vous le langage des fleurs ? En effet, chaque fleur etchaque couleur à une signification. La rose rouge signifie un amour passionné,
la rose rose désigne un amour doux et sucré, la rose blanche l'amour calme etqui dure très longtemps, la rose noire est la revanche. Mais attention si vous
recevez une rose jaune, cela signifie "pardon", car on est cocu. N'offrez donc
pas de fleurs jaunes sans y penser. Chaque fleur a un sens caché.
1ACROSS
2 suitable, correct
3 relating to the countryside
5 continued without stopping
8 almost not or nothing
9 ahead in time
11 not much chance of being or occurring
13 set a course of action
15 forbid
16 a humorous play on words
17 with no delay
18 creative, imaginative
19 ended weakly (2 words)

2

3
5

6

7
8
9

10
11
12

13

DOWN
1 a distinctive period in time
2 attached to
4 successfully completed
6 innovative, inventive, creative
7 add a burden or impose a task
10 all but 100% real
12 strange, weird, unconventional
14 noticed(print version here)

1415
16

17

18

19

4

The passage below describes a person (Fred), his neighbors and hismotorcycle. See if you can fill in the missing vocabulary from the given list.
1. catches 2. necessary 3. ignore 4. discontinue 5. desist 6. petition
7. habit 8. Needless 9. revving 10. politely 11. ride 12. interesting
13. keeps 14. neighbors 15. explains
My friend Fred loves his motorbike, but there’s a problem. He has the ______ ofgetting up early every morning and ______ its motor non-stop for about 30
minutes. He doesn’t ______ it anywhere and when he’s finished, he goes backinside, has his breakfast, puts on his suit and ______ the bus to go to work.
______ to say, his ______ are not very happy about
this. They have asked him many times to stop,
but he ______ explains that it is______ to do this in order to keep
his bike in working order. He______ to them that his work ______
him busy 7 days a week and hedoesn’t have many opportunities
to ride it. Last week his neighbors
got together, signed a ______and handed it to him withthreats of taking legal action if
he didn’t ______! It’s now up to hm.
Will he ______ this habitor will he just ______ hisneighbors? It will be ______ to find out.
DA L T E R N A T I V E SE
NC U R R E N T
C O N S U M P T I O NIFO
VR
L
E
E
PC O M P R O M I S E SS
D A I R YTRSPOHU N D E N I A B L ERDMYNNEEOCTVMTS U S T A I N A B L EIAOITLALGNTALB E V E R A G E
C H R O N I CCNA
ITTPBOHN U T R I E N T S
ITEA C C E S S I B L E

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
2 possible choices
4 in the present time
5 the process of eating
9 agreements between two sides
10 referring to milk products
12 not possible to contradict
14 providing nourishment
17 liquid suitable for drinking
18 long-lasting and recurrentsuffering
19 give energy and build tissue inanimals
20 easily obtainedDOWN
1 formed or developed from3 unwilling to accept
6 bubbly, foam-like7 absolutely necessary
8 trying to sell or give support to
11 most common
13 a statistic relating to humanpopulation
15 a quality or characteristic ofsomething
16 a sugar contained in milk

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