1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: to the show, Ridiculous Historians. Don't call it a comeback, 3 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: we'll actually do, because we are back with part two 4 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: on the weird, weird, weird history of shipping things in 5 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: the US. If you have not listened to part one 6 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: for for you know, for your sake, we're just looking 7 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: out for you, go ahead and pause this, Go play 8 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: part one. It's worth it. We'll wait. I'm Noah by 9 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: the way, Oh that's right, and I am Ben Boland. 10 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: We are joined as always with our super producer, Casey Pegroom, 11 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: and we are officially halfway through the very strange story 12 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: of how things it from point A to point B 13 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: and all the weird stops they make along the way. 14 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: How about we joined that already in progress. The way 15 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: that Atlas Obscura phrases is pretty funny. The author says, 16 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: the owners of the Central Pacific Railroad created a company 17 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 1: solely for the purpose of screwing with Wells Fargo, which 18 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: which I always love it when people interject a little 19 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: bit of petty humanity into these stories. This story is 20 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 1: full of petty humanity for sure. Now, yeah, yeah, we've 21 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 1: all been to the we've all had this ship something somewhere, 22 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: so you're right, they do. They do decide to purchase 23 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: this company, and they continue being this huge force in 24 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: the package industry until World War One. Because during World 25 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: War One, the US government forces all of these postage services, 26 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: all the express industry companies to combine into a single 27 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: monolithic thing and they nationalize it and they call this 28 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: the Railway Express Agency. Yeah, and this is specifically so 29 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: the government could have an easier time of shipping wartime 30 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: necessities um such as rations, human beings and all of 31 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 1: the other trappings and accoutrement of of war. And as 32 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: we know in history, you know, all good things must 33 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: come to an end um and disruptive technology is just 34 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: the order of the day. And in nineteen seventy five, 35 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: this monolith um collapsed as well, and it's because of 36 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: motor vehicles. They they just became much more efficient for 37 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: shipping things because you weren't bound to literal routes laid 38 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: out on tracks, and you could just be a lot 39 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: more nimble in shipping stuff. And that's when we start 40 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: to see Wells far ago completely abandoning uh shipping and 41 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: receiving in favor of exclusively their banking operations, which again 42 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: they were happening in tandem. The banks were kind of 43 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 1: part and parcel, if you'll excuse the pun. You don't 44 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: have to um to the shipping business. Because of the time, 45 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: they were already handling these assets that made sense to 46 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: them to be able to just invest them and hold 47 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: them for people in all of these various wells fargo locations. 48 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: So they give that up and this is when we 49 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: start to see um a lot more individual companies pop 50 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: up startup companies at the time, for lack of a 51 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: better term, like ups and FedEx. Yeah, we have to 52 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: remember that while all these swells and shipping tycoons were 53 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: putting their stamp on history. Uh, we have to remember 54 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: that the Federal Post Office at this time was a 55 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: lot more like a regulatory agency than something that actually 56 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: shipped packages and letters. So while all this is happening, 57 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: and let's let's jump back in time here in the 58 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: early days of the Federal Post Office, it wasn't a 59 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: shipping company. It was more of a regulatory agency. They 60 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: made rules about how packages and letters should be sent. 61 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: Until that is, several big changes occur, which us to 62 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: the current day. The first was the Rural Free Delivery Act. 63 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: There the establishment of Rural Free Delivery in eight This 64 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: was huge from more than half of the country because 65 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: half of the country lived in rural areas and now 66 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: they could get mail directly sent to them instead of 67 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: having to go to you know, the county seat to 68 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 1: find the post office. And in nineteen thirteen there was 69 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 1: another big change. It was something called parcel post. Yeah, 70 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: parcel post, it's to send. I mean, it's as simple 71 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: as it became much more cost effective to ship things, 72 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: maxing out at fifty pounds at the time. In fact, 73 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,039 Speaker 1: it was so efficient that, as is referenced in this 74 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: Atlas Obscure article, uh, college students would ship their dirty 75 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: laundry home and the especially made metal boxes so their 76 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: parents could do their laundry for them and then ship 77 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 1: it back. And it was more cost effective to do 78 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: that than to go to a laundry matter hire somebody 79 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: to to wash their clothes for them, which is crazy, right. 80 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: You have to wonder was the mail just that cheap 81 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: or were laundry mats themselves incredibly expensive. There's so much 82 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: weird stuff that's been mailed over over the years. We 83 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: can we can laundry list a few towards the end, 84 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: but we should mention just an honorable mention, of course, 85 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: to Charlotte May Piersdorff, who was literally mailed from Grangeville 86 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: to Lewiston, Idaho for about fifty three cents. Her trip 87 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,479 Speaker 1: only took a few hours. This was legal at the 88 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: time because she was under the weight limit. I hope 89 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: they poked some holes in the box for her. She 90 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: did make it, she did survive, yes, so maybe she 91 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: was practicing some sort of deep meditation to restrict your breathing. 92 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,679 Speaker 1: I have you ever seen that Malcolm in the middle 93 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: episode where the older brother whose name I'm forgetting, what's 94 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: his name, doesn't matter, he wants to ship himself to 95 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: China because he wants to beat up his pen pal 96 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: for some reason. And Dewey, the very smart younger brother, 97 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: UM decides to help him and also screw with him 98 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: by packing him up into a giant wooden create and 99 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: then simulating what it would feel like to make that 100 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: journey by like, you know, rocking it back and forth 101 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: and having sound effects. And he even had like a 102 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: fish out so it smelled like the sea and all 103 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: this stuff, and Um he's got like, you know, boxes 104 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: of cereal and like milk and stuff inside the crate. Um. 105 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: I just love the idea of of anyone shipping themselves 106 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: somewhere as a substitute to other more traditional forms of travel, 107 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: and shout out of course the Henry Box Brown. I 108 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,479 Speaker 1: know a lot of our fellow listeners are waiting to 109 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: at least have the mention of this brilliant man who 110 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: escaped slavery when he was thirty three by having himself 111 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: mailed in eighteen forty nine to Philadelphia, Which is talking 112 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: about out of the box thinking. Well, the out of 113 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: the box thinking led him into a box and then 114 00:06:57,640 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: he got out of it. Eventually did get out of 115 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: the box. That's true. Um, yeah, that's a really cool story. 116 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,559 Speaker 1: And there's an episode of stuff you missed in history 117 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: class on that very subject. So let's let's bring ourselves 118 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 1: forward to the future. You mentioned UPS earlier. They started 119 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 1: out in Seattle in seven as the American Messenger Company 120 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: or AMC, with no affiliation to the to the Theater Company. Now, 121 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: this was kind of like a gig economy. There were 122 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: a bunch of kids who weren't full time employees. They 123 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: were just doing odd jobs for not a ton of money. 124 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: Remember the episode we did about the firefly catchers an hour, 125 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: It was that company. That was the company. It was 126 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: like a chemical company that like literally crowdsourced little kids 127 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: to go around catching fireflies. Um, this was like that 128 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: on a smaller scale initially, which is crazy considering you know, 129 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: the corporate Megalith's eventually became. But yeah, they describe it 130 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: here as as almost like a lemonade. It stand mentality. Uh. 131 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: And then of course it ballooned when this young man 132 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: at the age of nineteen, James casey Um expanded and 133 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,600 Speaker 1: he started kind of combining the efforts of all of 134 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: these little disparate, um gig kind of courier services and 135 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: moved outside of Seattle and then changed the company's United 136 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: parcel service in nineteen nineteen. And their big thing was 137 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: using cars. Like we said, it was much more nimble. Um. 138 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: They were very good at planning these routes and making 139 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: things as efficient as possible. Yeah, and at this time 140 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: UPS experiences tremendous growth thinks, of course, to the boom 141 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: of the automobile industry. It also naturally becomes a direct 142 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: competitor to this parcel Post system because UPS gets something 143 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: called common carrier rights. Common carrier rights mean that shooping 144 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: companies like UPS have some of the rights and responsibilities 145 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: of a public company or state service even though it's 146 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: a private entity. Because it's explicitly working for the general 147 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:14,440 Speaker 1: public good, it is subject to regulation by the government. 148 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,319 Speaker 1: This sounds like a bunch of red tape, but ultimately 149 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: what it allows UPS to do is to become at 150 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: the time the biggest package shipper in the world. And 151 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: uh they are, of course still overland shipping. There's no 152 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: airmail yet, although some some folks tried, right, I think 153 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: the US government actually tried airmail a couple of times. 154 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 1: The po D, the Post Office Department, started delivering mail 155 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: by aircraft in nineteen eighteen. But they couldn't, you know, 156 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: they couldn't deliver packages, just letters, just very fancy letters, 157 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:52,320 Speaker 1: and that list included. We had the newly established United 158 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: States Postal Service, which, as we mentioned at the top 159 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: of the show, went from being a more of a 160 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: department to an actual agency. They have the letter deliveries, 161 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: thatch suation on lock. No one else really needs to 162 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: mess with that. It's not really an area of concern 163 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 1: for any of these other companies, we have ups and 164 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: then in nineteen seventy one we have Federal Express, which 165 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: which the seed of that idea began in a Yale 166 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: dorm room in nineteen sixty five. It was a dream 167 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: the subject of a term paper by undergraduate Frederick W. Smith, 168 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: who essentially invented the idea of airmail Um. In this 169 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: paper that didn't even get a particularly good grade. Uh. 170 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: He his professor did not see the value in this 171 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,719 Speaker 1: revolutionary idea, and he he didn't flunk it, but it 172 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:43,319 Speaker 1: probably it sounds like he gave it more of a C. 173 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: So then in seventy one, after a little bit of 174 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: time spent in the military, Smith got out of his 175 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:54,199 Speaker 1: service and he bought um a very large share controlling 176 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 1: share in an Arkansas company called Arkansas Aviation Sales, which 177 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,479 Speaker 1: is in Little Rock, Um. And he began to see 178 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: how tough the logistical side of using airplanes to deliver 179 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: freight in a timely manner. So he decided that he 180 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: was going to find a better way to do that, 181 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: using kind of the lessons he learned from that term paper. Right, 182 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: so fred Smith is pretty candid with himself and the 183 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 1: employees of Arkansas Aviation sales about the difficulties facing their company, 184 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: and I gotta say I appreciate that FedEx's official website 185 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: is also very honest about the bumps and obstacles in 186 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: the way. That's where we're getting a lot of this 187 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:43,440 Speaker 1: history here. Uh. He is behaving exactly like all those 188 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: people you see at the beginning of made for TV 189 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: infomercials where something happens, they kind of bumble something and 190 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,200 Speaker 1: they go, there's got to be a better way. And 191 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:57,119 Speaker 1: that is where he gets the idea for Federal Express 192 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: because going back to the paper, which was still very prescient, 193 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:06,599 Speaker 1: he thinks there are two big challenges logistics and then infrastructure, 194 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 1: right which are inextricably intertwined. So he also he chooses 195 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,200 Speaker 1: the name Federal Express for some pretty clever reasons. Said, 196 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: federal makes it sound, you know, more like a government entity, 197 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: like like patriotic too. You wanted to appeal to people's 198 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: patriotism and the idea that I think the Federalist papers 199 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: was a big part of the foundation of our country 200 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: and there would be positive associations with that. Yeah, he 201 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,080 Speaker 1: thinks it will help attract public attention. It also helps 202 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 1: him with one of his first potential clients, the Federal 203 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 1: Reserve Bank. He thought, they're gonna love this. They turned 204 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: it down, but obviously FedEx soldiered on. They moved to Memphis, 205 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: Tennessee because it was kind of central in the US 206 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: and the airport was in a great location, was rarely 207 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:59,320 Speaker 1: closed due to bad weather. They were also able They said, look, hey, guys, 208 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,679 Speaker 1: if you want to move FedEx here, we will work 209 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: with you. Yeah. And again that goes into his forward 210 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,559 Speaker 1: thinking as far as like streamlining the process and the logistics. 211 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: So UM. They began operations on April seventeenth and nineteen 212 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: seventy three. According to their official website, they had three 213 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty nine employees UM and fourteen planes that 214 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: were housed in hangars there at the Memphis Airport, and 215 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: on their first outing they delivered a hundred and eighties 216 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,960 Speaker 1: six packages to twenty five states UM Rochester, New York, 217 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: to Miami, Florida and all points in between. And much 218 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:39,080 Speaker 1: like the Pony Express, they were not profitable UM at first, 219 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: but unlike the Pony Express, they did figure out how 220 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: to soldier through and from nineteen seventy three to nineteen 221 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: seventy five, no profits. But then in July of nineteen 222 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: seventy five it started becoming a very um prominent carrier 223 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:59,160 Speaker 1: of luxury goods in the marketplace UM, and it started 224 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: to become this kind of bellweather of how to do 225 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: business shipping things in this kind of new era of 226 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 1: on demand, door to door shipment. This path ultimately leads 227 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 1: FedEx to become the world's largest all cargo air fleet. 228 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: They have tons of planes thanks to deregulation, and in 229 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: three they were the first American company to get one 230 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 1: billion dollars worth of revenue within ten years of a startup, 231 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: without being bought by anybody and without merging. So they 232 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: got there on their own in that business sense. And 233 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: this still despite the company's size, it's just a small 234 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: piece of the weird, weird, gigantic thing we call the 235 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,680 Speaker 1: shipping industry. We didn't even get into cargo ships when 236 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,680 Speaker 1: everybody listening to know, if you want a weird vacation, 237 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: you can actually book a ride on a cargo ship. 238 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: You know why. You just have to be very flexible 239 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: with your times. Is it like cost effective? This is 240 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: more like a weird vacation. It's like it's a weird vacation. 241 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: It's it's a slow boat across the ocean. So I 242 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: wouldn't like book myself passage on a cargo ship to 243 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: save money. Uh maybe you could, depending, you know. It's 244 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 1: it's just it's so different because it's gonna take such 245 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: a long time. You might have to you can say, okay, 246 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: I want to arrive you know, X amount of months 247 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: or days later in East Asia, but they'll say, okay, 248 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: well give it a margin vera of a month or two. 249 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:40,920 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that makes it. That makes a lot more sense. 250 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: And we mentioned this briefly at the top of the show. 251 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: But like where things are now, it's interesting how it's 252 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: come full circle now. Shipping and receiving is becoming much 253 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 1: more back to those old days of just kind of 254 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 1: getting a courier like with like a task Rabbit person 255 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,120 Speaker 1: or using uber in some places, like in New York, 256 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: Uber driver will pick up and bring you stuff, you know, 257 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: like if they're not supposed to, but they will. And 258 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: then you have other delivery you know, on demand services 259 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: like ziftyh and what have you. And I feel like 260 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: we've kind of come back full circle. Um, not to mention, uh, 261 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: the elephant in the room the giant, giant elephant in 262 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 1: the room, which is Amazon in terms of how potentially 263 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: they stand to dominate shipping and receiving through their Amazon 264 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: Prime memberships, etcetera. You know, Like I mean, they have 265 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,000 Speaker 1: all these fulfillment centers that are nearby, so when you 266 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: order goods, you're not having to have it shipped from 267 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: across the country. You're literally have a duplicate facility that's 268 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: much more close to you that you could get your 269 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: whatever it is, your you know, Pikachu key chain, you know, 270 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: in the same day, because it's literally just a local 271 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: delivery person bringing it from that fulfillment center that might 272 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: only be an hour or even less away from you 273 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: if you live in a bigger city like New York. 274 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: So it's interesting to see how that's going to develop 275 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 1: as they start, you know, experimenting with terrifying things like 276 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,280 Speaker 1: using drones to deliver birthday cakes and and what what whatnot. 277 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: And now we've we've caught up to the current situation. 278 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,200 Speaker 1: We also want to give an honorable mentioned to several 279 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:16,680 Speaker 1: strange things that have been shipped in the past. Of course, 280 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:22,359 Speaker 1: diseases have been shipped accidentally. I would assume, well, there's 281 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: a lady named Miss Daisy James in a August seven 282 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: issue of the New York Times, who said the dead 283 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: birds and small animals are sent to taxidermists throughout the country. 284 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: She also handled different strains of smallpox, diphtheria, and scarlet 285 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,920 Speaker 1: fever that were shipped by doctors to the health board. 286 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: Remember when people were sending anthrax in the mail a 287 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: lot that was a thing or fake anthrax as well? 288 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: There were also been entire buildings shipped, sometimes brick by 289 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 1: brick pets of course, loose diamonds, which are you know 290 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:01,399 Speaker 1: the millionaires go to escape plan uh, and many many 291 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:04,760 Speaker 1: other strange things. One one thing that might be of 292 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,359 Speaker 1: interest to some of us is that you can ship 293 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:12,679 Speaker 1: things anonymously through the mail. These are These can range 294 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: from practical jokes to uh to just very weird stuff 295 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,879 Speaker 1: or contraband perhaps or contraband perhaps, which we are not 296 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,439 Speaker 1: we're not condoning right on a family show. But what 297 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: happens to the recipient? I mean, sure, you can send 298 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 1: something um anonymously, but the person that receives it could 299 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: then be on the hook for whatever you sent. Is 300 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: how does that work? Well, there's a need article on 301 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: cheat sheet dot com, where it says it lists some 302 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:44,000 Speaker 1: different entities that will help you send weird stuff. You 303 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:46,880 Speaker 1: can send somebody a potato in the mail. You can 304 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: send them a glitter bomb, which is crazy, really really horrible. Yeah. 305 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:53,400 Speaker 1: I would not do that to someone, and please don't 306 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: do that. It just gets in every orifice. It's been 307 00:18:57,320 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: described as, of course, the herpes of the craft world. 308 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: It's that's very true. You can ship a brick, you 309 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: can send people fake money. You can send them a 310 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,640 Speaker 1: gigantic teddy bear, a venus flytrap, just some sand. One 311 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:13,880 Speaker 1: of the weirdest things. A lot of these are jokes 312 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: and strange pranks. You can send prank candles that smell 313 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,119 Speaker 1: good when they burn for the first few minutes and 314 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:23,120 Speaker 1: then they go from like vanilla to you know, sulfur 315 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:28,440 Speaker 1: uh uh fecal smell. Yeah, and then you can send 316 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: the worst cup of coffee. You can send an eggplant, uh, 317 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,440 Speaker 1: some things like that, Like I think potatoes and coconuts 318 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:37,960 Speaker 1: you don't even have to wrap. You can just put 319 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:39,880 Speaker 1: a stamp on them. I do love a good mail 320 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: order coconut. That's that's the way I uh, that's the 321 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: way I often prefer them. Uh and this this brings 322 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 1: us to you, dear listeners, What are some of the 323 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: weirdest things that you have ever encountered via parcel or post? 324 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: What's the weirdest thing you've ever delivered or had delivered 325 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: to you? We want to know. You can find us 326 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: on Facebook, can find us on Instagram. You can find 327 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:05,440 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, not just as ridiculous history, but as 328 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,000 Speaker 1: individuals as well. You can find me exclusively on Instagram, 329 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: where I go by the handle at how Now Noel Brown. 330 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: You can find me on Twitter at ben Bowland h 331 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: s W for the old school how stuff Works fans 332 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:22,199 Speaker 1: out there. You can also find me on Instagram in 333 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 1: various adventures where I am at ben Boland. Thanks as 334 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: always the super producer Casey Pegram, Alex Williams who composed 335 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: our theme, research associate gabelues here. Um Christopher Haciota is 336 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: here in spirit Eve's Jeff Cote of course, the Quister 337 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: a K. Jonathan Strickland, a k A Young Quizzles, a 338 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:46,199 Speaker 1: k A A sap Quizzy a k A the Worst. 339 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: Oh and hey, um, do us a slide? And why 340 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: don't you go over to iTunes or your podcast platform 341 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: of choice and leave us a nice review or a 342 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,520 Speaker 1: really hilarious bad review. We might read it on the 343 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: show one day. And if you don't want to do 344 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:00,160 Speaker 1: an NS that, you can send us an email where 345 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,199 Speaker 1: we are ridiculous at i heart radio dot com The 346 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: checks in the mail folks. Thanks for tuning in. We'll 347 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:16,520 Speaker 1: see you soon. 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