The guy at the Bothell post office who asked me to mail a potato

I was in line at the Bothell post office last Tuesday, just trying to send a birthday card. The man in front of me turned around, held up a single russet potato, and said, 'Do you think this needs extra postage? My buddy in Texas lost a bet.' He was completely serious. The clerk took it, weighed it, and put it in a box with a straight face. Has anyone else had a totally normal errand in town turn weird like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.logan2d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, I read an article once about a whole thing where people were mailing potatoes as a prank. They called it "potato mail" and it was just random people getting potatoes in the mail with no return address. Super weird, but I guess the post office has to deliver whatever fits in a box.

john_cooper3d ago

Wait, why is mailing a potato such a big deal? It's just a vegetable in a box, not some crazy thing. People mail way weirder stuff all the time. The post office has seen it all, so a potato is probably just another Tuesday for them.

dixon.spencer3d ago

You're missing the point, @john_cooper. It's not about the potato itself. It's about the intent. Mailing a random, unmarked potato is an anonymous act. Could be a weird gift, a prank, or a threat. The post office handles boxes, but they can't process the mystery. That's what freaks people out.