total eclipse stamps

[asakiyume]

I thought these stamps were just cool because hey: cool image! Black and eclipse-y. I've received some on letters and I'd recently bought a sheet.



But then missroserose sent me a letter with this stamp and pointed out THAT IT CHANGES WHEN EXPOSED TO HEAT.

And I tested it, and it's TRUE. if you expose the stamp to heat, the silhouetted moon suddenly becomes pale and reveals all its features. SO COOL.

What a fun thing for the post office to do. Thank you, USPS.

Comments

[queenoftheskies]

How cool!

[st_martin_a]

Very cool.

[sartorias]

I totally have to get some!

[asakiyume]

They are *so cool*.

I saw a comment online about them not working, but they totally did for me. I didn't try to change them with just my body heat, though; I held them over a just-turned-off electric burner. My hands are always so cold they'd never warm a thing.

[asakiyume]

It's a fun, inventive thing to do. Good on the post office for trying to find new ways to make people care about stamps, you know?

[asakiyume]

It's such a great idea.

[lizziebelle]

I wanted to buy these the last time I needed stamps, but my post office had sold out. So I got Disney villains instead, which was almost as fun.

[asakiyume]

Disney villains would be especially fun when you're paying bills. I got a kick out of paying bills using shark stamps.

[ivy]

That was my thought too! !!! followed by a desire to run to the post office... but it's Sunday, heh. Tomorrow!

[ivy]

I voted using shark stamps! That was great too.

[missroserose]

I think they've gotten less sensitive with time, although I usually have cold hands too so it's harder for me to say. Brian bought me a sheet shortly before the eclipse, and I seem to remember them changing just from my breathing on them then, but now (some months later) I have to breathe on them a few times. Clever idea with the burner, though. :)

[asakiyume]

Yes! I can see it :-)

[genarti]

Oh wow, what a neat idea! I almost never send letters, but I want a pack of those stamps anyway now just for the coolness factor.

(This is an ominous icon to use with an enthusiastic "yay science!" comment, but oh well; it's my most moon-related one!)

[minoanmiss]

oh wow! Now how to do so without destroying the stamp...

[ashlyme]

Those are ace! The Royal Mail could learn a few new tricks...

[rachelmanija]

BRB, getting these right now.

[asakiyume]

Seriously, we have to sell the post office out of these so they know THEY DONE GOOD

[asakiyume]

How to heat it up you mean? Just hold it over something hot. It changes while it's warm, then reverts to being black as it cools off.

[asakiyume]

They've had some ones with nice uses of foil IIRC....

[asakiyume]

Ominous icons for the win, I say. Throwing the volcano icon up just for the heck of it ;-)

[asakiyume]

It could be too that some sheets work better than others, maybe? Anyway, your one that you sent definitely worked!

[khiemtran]

Very cool! It's just occurred to me that, not only do I not know if I have any stamps (I vaguely recall buying some years ago), I don't even know how much it costs to post a letter these days. When we had the postal "survey" here on Marriage Equality, I even had to check if there really was a letter box (mailbox) near my street, or if I'd just imagined it...

[amaebi]

!!!

[zyzyly]

I want some stamps like that!

[evelyn_b]

When I saw this post yesterday, I immediately ran to the post office and asked if they had any eclipse stamps! only to learn that the eclipse stamps were last year, when the eclipse was, and they don't have any.

I got some "bioluminescent life" stamps instead and those are pretty cool.

[asakiyume]

Oooh, do the bioluminescent ones glow?

And--in case you want the eclipse ones--you can still sometimes get things by going to the USPS online store--they always have more than your local post office does. That's how I got these (though they took forever getting here, so maybe they had to like scour the US to find a post office to send them to me from.)

[asakiyume]

evelyn_b (below)'s experience suggests you might not be able to get them at the post office, but I was able to order them online.

[asakiyume]

I love random fun stuff like this. And if I'm reading what evelyn_b writes correctly, there are glowy stamps as well.

[asakiyume]

So you must pay bills online? I confess bills get the majority of my stamps, though I do write the occasional letter.

[evelyn_b]

I just shut myself in a closet to see if they glow in the dark. They don't! But they're very glowy in the light.

[asakiyume]

I think we know what we can suggest to them for their next gimmick... (but I just took a peek at the stamps, and they are indeed very pretty even without glowing in the dark)

[khiemtran]

Yes, all bills are paid online now. In fact most bills don't even arrive by mail now, they just come electronically.