wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (07/25/85)
(Where is all the stuff that people on net.news.group say is in net.bizarre? We have had 6 postings there so far, half of them discussions about the group...) Those little stickers of various colors, shapes, and imprints that the USPS plasters on your junk mail and magazines always seemed pretty bizarre to me. I know they relate to sorting, and to the Sectional Center Facilities, in some way. Any ex-postalpersons out there who want to take a stab at explaining the arcane code and meaning behind them? Will
crandell@ut-sally.UUCP (Jim Crandell) (07/25/85)
> Those little stickers of various colors, shapes, and imprints that the > USPS plasters on your junk mail and magazines always seemed pretty > bizarre to me. They are indeed. Those are actually micro-miniature UHF radio transmitters, and they're used as bugging devices. They are planted there by the CIA. Just one of the many devious ploys the government uses to keep tabs on ordinary, honest citizens. Well, you wouldn't want to think that your tax money is going to waste, would you? Have a Nice Day. --------- The Glum Roper
mjc@cmu-cs-cad.ARPA (Monica Cellio) (07/25/85)
Bulk mailing permits require that the pieces be pre-sorted by zip code. I don't recall the details, but under some circumstances all the pieces in a bundle have to be the same zip code, and under others they all have to have the first three digits matching (these are usually for the leftover zip codes; there is a minimum size of bundles, and all the random zip codes that have one piece per get grouped under the regional zip). The stickers with a "D" on them are for "direct" mailings -- all items in that bundle had exactly the same zip code. The "3"s mean all the items had the same first three digits. The post office presumably does the same sorting itself with first class mail. Also, I have seen unmarked colored stickers (usually light green) and I have no idea what they mean. -Dragon -- UUCP: ...ucbvax!dual!lll-crg!dragon ARPA: monica.cellio@cmu-cs-cad or dragon@lll-crg
wfi@rti-sel.UUCP (William Ingogly) (07/25/85)
In article <151@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes: >Those little stickers of various colors, shapes, and imprints that the >USPS plasters on your junk mail and magazines always seemed pretty >bizarre to me. I know they relate to sorting, and to the Sectional >Center Facilities, in some way. Any ex-postalpersons out there who want >to take a stab at explaining the arcane code and meaning behind them? I worked for six years as a full-time postal clerk at the Rock Island, Illinois sectional center facility (or SCF, as they're affectionately known :-) in the late '60s to early '70s, so I guess I qualify as an ex-postalperson. Here's more than you ever wanted to know about the mail sorting business. The P.S. may have changed the stickers, but back when I worked there the yellow ones with the 'C' all went to a single city, the green ones with the 'S' all went to the same sectional center facility, and the orange ones with the 'D' all went to the same state for further distribution. A sectional center facility is the central distribution point for cities whose zip codes all begin with the same three numbers (this is a generalization; there are exceptions). You would throw mail into a case (one of those things with the pigeonholes) or sort mail at an LSM station (automatic letter sorting machine) that had bins on the back. Some pigeonholes/bins were for individual cities, some for SCFs, some for whole states (these would be sorted into cities and SCFs at a major city in the destination state). The sorting scheme used is different at different P.O.s. Periodically, a case pigeonhole or LSM bin will fill up, and the person working the case or behind the LSM will make a little bundle with rubber bands, slap a little yellow or green or orange sticker on the top letter, and throw it in a shopping cart. A person who works at the pouch rack collects the bundles from the shopping carts positioned around the post office periodically and throws the bundles into burlap pouches (for surface transportation) or colored nylon pouches (for air transportation). These pouches are sealed and placed on trucks at dispatch time. The reason you only see the little colored stickers occasionally is that only the top letter on a bundle gets a sticker. You'll also notice little numbers stamped on the backs of some letters; these are automatically put on the letters by the LSM stations when a letter is processed. Each station has a different number so a quality control checker can go through the bins on the back of the LSM and see who's screwing up. Everyone in the P.O. had to periodically pass tests for accuracy and knowledge of mail destinations to keep his/her job, and you only got two shots at it. My specialties were city carrier routes and knowing which SCFs all the cities in Ohio went to. Now, aren't you sorry you asked? :-) There was a whole set of bizarre terms used in the P.O. as well; large square metal-framed hampers for parcel post were called 'gurneys'; they were manufactured in Gurnee, Illinois, I think. Metal locks for mail pouches were called 'L. A. locks,' because the manufacturers' name had L. A. in it (as I recall). 'Flats' were anything larger than a letter that got thrown into a 'flat case,' including magazines and large manila envelopes. Yes, we'd read the magazines on weekends when only a few of us were working. The strangest one I saw was called 'Casket And Sunnyside,' which was a professional journal for morticians. Never saw so many adds for casket liners and embalming fluids in my life. Hope this was bizarre enough. -- Cheers, Bill Ingogly
lee@rochester.UUCP (Lee Moore) (07/25/85)
Actually there are several catagories of bulk mail stickers:
direct (all 5 digits) are the same
same city
same sectional sorting facilitiy (SCF)
same state
other
When you make bulk mail batches, you must have at least ten letters
to qualify for a catagory.
--
TCP/IP: lee@rochester.arpa
UUCP: {decvax, allegra, seismo, cmcl2}!rochester!lee
XNS: Lee Moore:CS:Univ Rochester
Phone: +1 (716) 275-7747, -5671
Physical: 43 01' 40'' N, 77 37' 49'' Wmink@cfa.UUCP (Doug Mink) (07/26/85)
> Those little stickers of various colors, shapes, and imprints that the > USPS plasters on your junk mail and magazines always seemed pretty > bizarre to me. I know they relate to sorting, and to the Sectional > Center Facilities, in some way. Any ex-postalpersons out there who want > to take a stab at explaining the arcane code and meaning behind them? I'm not an ex-postal person, but I've used the stickers for bulk mailing to save postage on a newsletter I work on. They indicate presorted groups of 10 or more pieces banded together: D (direct) indicates a single zip code, C (city) indicates the same city, 3 (first 3 digits same) indicates the same regional sorting center, S (state) indicates the same state. There may be more, but those are the ones I know. -Doug Mink
jans@mako.UUCP (Jan Steinman) (07/29/85)
In article <2466@ut-sally.UUCP> crandell@ut-sally.UUCP (Jim Crandell) writes: >> Those little stickers of various colors, shapes, and imprints that the >> USPS plasters on your junk mail and magazines always seemed pretty >> bizarre to me. > >They are indeed. > >Those are actually micro-miniature UHF radio transmitters, and they're >used as bugging devices. They are planted there by the CIA. I thought EVERYONE knew that! How d'ya think the word got out so quickly about the Kate Bush explosion? (See net.rumor) She was delivering mail at the time! -- :::::: Jan Steinman Box 1000, MS 61-161 (w)503/685-2843 :::::: :::::: tektronix!tekecs!jans Wilsonville, OR 97070 (h)503/657-7703 ::::::
chris@cornell.UUCP (Christopher F. Harrison) (07/29/85)
In article <2466@ut-sally.UUCP> crandell@ut-sally.UUCP (Jim Crandell) writes: >> Those little stickers of various colors, shapes, and imprints that the >> USPS plasters on your junk mail and magazines always seemed pretty >> bizarre to me. > >Those are actually micro-miniature UHF radio transmitters, and they're >used as bugging devices. They are planted there by the CIA. Oh yeah? I heard from an insider (A major distributer for Spamway) that they're really scratch-and-sniff cyanide stickers distributed by an elite group of guerrilla businessmen. These propagators of lethal sales tactics intend to wipe out all non-customers by using the consumers' own ineptness against itself. If you find a sticker on your junk mail, please open the envelope BEFORE utilizing the scratch-and-sniff sticker, failing to do so will activate the cyanide, which causes quick dimensional transi- tion(i.e.- death). The psychology behind the plan is to eliminate all non-customers who would normally throw out their junk mail without at least opening it first. On an aside, the latest edition of "Killer Sales" quarter- ly announced that legislation was being presented that would make it a federal offense to throw away junk mail without opening it first, with subsequent penalties of up to 6 months of attendance to Erbalife meetings as a rehabil- itation measure. IS junk mail better than no mail?, Christopher Harrison
prager@cholula.UUCP (07/29/85)
The colored dots are impregnated with various mind altering chemicals. The mere touch of the dots is enough to cause the transfer of the active ingredient. In this manner, the government ( remember them) can continue their insidious research on the unsuspecting public. David ------------------------------------------------------------------- David Prager (w)206-827-9626 (h)206-821-3561 Teltone Corp. Kirkland, WA. ...uw-beaver!tikal!cholula!prager 98033-0657 or whatever works.
rcj@burl.UUCP (Curtis Jackson) (07/30/85)
I just got an Overnight Mail thingie from my mother in Massachusetts and the damn thing was almost completely covered (this is a 9x12 inch envelope, mind you) with 22 cent stamps!! Talk about a bizarre (and expensive) way for the postal service to register postage!! -- The MAD Programmer -- 919-228-3313 (Cornet 291) alias: Curtis Jackson ...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd mgnetp ]!burl!rcj ...![ ihnp4 cbosgd akgua masscomp ]!clyde!rcj
ahl@ihlpm.UUCP (little) (07/30/85)
But what about those little colored stickers that keep clogging up my port when I get electronic mail????? A Little Bizarre
inc@fluke.UUCP (Ensign Benson, Time Cadet) (07/31/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** >> Those are actually micro-miniature UHF radio transmitters, and they're >> used as bugging devices. > Oh yeah? I heard from an insider (A major distributer for Spamway) > that they're really scratch-and-sniff cyanide stickers distributed by > an elite group of guerrilla businessmen. All these theories are interesting, but those little colored dots actually have three main purposes: 1) They were started up by the post office to prepare everyone for the 84-digit Zip Code. Rather than requiring all of us to memorize a whole bunch of long numbers, the PO thought it would be a nice gesture to let us have different hues to indicate different Zip Codes. Later this month, water color sets will be distributed nationally, coinciding with CBS News' National Color Blindness Test, to be aired Sunday, August 25 at 7:30 pm WST. Check local listings for time and charges. 2) They presented a convenient topic for the creators of net.bizarre to kick things off with . Therefore, NETBIZPIRG (net.bizarre Public Interest Research Group) lobbied for 3 years, with expenses running into the *hundreds*, to convince Congress to make it a capital offense for first-class mailers to send any piece of mail without the 84-digit hue code sticker. Those suckers got on the bandwagon fast! 3) Nice to have a group I can relate to! See you there -- -- Ensign Benson -Time Cadet- _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-The Digital Circus, Sector R-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_