What I Learned Today

Recently I got to experiment with USPS’s Media Mail. I shipped myself some books during a move and paid just $10 for a 7-lb package. Today I shipped a book to a friend (15.70 oz) which was $4.63, the starting price for any Media Mail. It would have been $13.45 to ship via Priority Mail or $9.00 by Ground Advantage.

What counts as Media Mail? Basically anything readable (books but nothing with advertising in it) or watchable (DVDs, film, VHS) or listenable (CDs, tapes, albums, player piano rolls (!!)). Here is the official specification of Media Mail. I also found this handy, much more readable chart, although it is from 2013 so I would welcome learning if there is any update out there.

I did run into a snag. The specification and chart say you can include a personal note or card with the item. When I presented my package for mailing, the clerk asked if I had a card inside. I cheerfully said yes. She then charged me an additional $0.73 for the first-class postage for that card. I noted that it was supposed to be included in the Media Mail charge. She said it had to be an “add on”. I noted it was a postcard so at least I should get the postcard rate. Nope.

At home, I looked again at the specification, which states:

6.4 Incidental First-Class Mail Attachments and Enclosures
Incidental First-Class Mail matter may be enclosed in or attached to any Media Mail or Library Mail piece without payment of First-Class Mail postage. An incidental First-Class Mail attachment or enclosure must be matter that, if mailed separately, would require First-Class Mail postage, is closely associated with but secondary to the host piece, and is prepared so as not to interfere with postal processing. An incidental First-Class Mail attachment or enclosure may be a bill for the product or publication, a statement of account for past products or publications, or a personal message or greeting included with a product, publication, or parcel. (my italics)

I support the USPS and I have no desire to harass them, but this is irritating. I paid more for this shipment than if I’d sent the postcard separately, and by their own rules, it should not have had an additional charge at all. Next time I’ll bring a printout of the spec with me. An education opportunity!

While visiting Montreal, I found this fascinating American typewriter on display at the small museum tucked into a grand Bank of Montreal building:

The compact size and unusual key layout caught my eye. I looked it up later and found out that it’s a Blickensderfer typewriter, invented in 1892 by George Canfield Blickensderfer. (Note that the caption says 1884 but I’m guessing this is a typo, since the Model 5 was not introduced until 1893, and the Model 7, which is what appears in the photo, was introduced in 1897.) It featured a lot of innovations compared to existing typewriters, including a much more compact size, fewer parts, lighter weight, the careful choice of keyboard layout, and a rotating typewheel that contained all of the letters and symbols in one place, in contrast to the individual key-arms with one letter per arm! The typewheel meant that you could change the machine’s entire font by swapping it for another typewheel.

The keyboard layout was carefully chosen. “Blickensderfer determined that 85% of words contained these letters, DHIATENSOR,” (Wikipedia) and so those letters were used for the home (bottom) row of the keyboard. The earlier QWERTY layout (1874) was designed to minimize the chance of the key-arms hitting each other, something the Blickensderfer model did not have to worry about.

I’d love to get to type on one of these machines. I’d have to re-learn touch typing with the different layout, but what a marvelous machine, packed with ingenuity!