Real Snail Mail: Get Your Mail Delivered By Real Snails

When I first read about this, I was like, noooooo way! As it turns out, not only is it true, but it’s been around for a few years. I’ve written about some wild and wacky stuff before, but I think this one is at the top of the list. I was able to trace it all the way back to this Time article in 2008.

Vicki Isley and Paul Smith, researchers at UK’s Bournemouth University set out to do something completely opposite all the trends. In a world where everything is getting faster and speed is critical, they have come up with a very creative way to have your email delivered the slowest way possible. It could take years… As a matter of fact, it takes an average of 615 days, 15 hours, 37 minutes and 27 seconds. Real Snail Mail is a web service that uses real snails to deliver email. I read somewhere that it’s almost like creating a little time capsule.

According to Round Off, this is how it works, “The snails have been fitted with a miniature electronic circuit and radio frequency chips that are compact enough to fit in their shells. Individuals can send messages through the Real Snail Mail website and have it delivered when their agent snail comes into range with an electronic reader.” This is all dependent on the snail. We all know snails move pretty slowly. Depending on where your snail mailman is inside the cage, the message could be delivered in anywhere from a few hours to a few years.

One more thing… There are a limited number of snails, and they can each only carry one message at a time. So if all the snails are busy with messages, yours could stay in the digital queue for a few years waiting for an available snail to deliver it! If you love animals like me, just know there is no reason to feel bad for the snails. According to Real Snail Mail, they are living in 5-star snail accommodations. Each snail has a whole profile including his or her name, transfer time, last pickup and delivery, etc… I’ve put two of the profiles below for you to check out. This is wild! I want to send a snail mail to myself and see how long it takes. I will never think of snail mail the same way ever again.