There's a website where strangers around the world mail each other real postcards. It's 21 years old, 800,000 people use it, and Helen, who is 101, calls her cards 'a little vacation.'

[u/Mastbubbles]

I make interactive data stories for a living.

There's a website called Postcrossing (not related to them, at all). You mail a real postcard to a stranger the site picks for you. When it lands, your address goes into the pot, and a completely different stranger mails one to you. That's it. That's the whole website. A student in Portugal built it in 2005 because he wanted more mail, and 21 years later it has moved 87 million postcards. Seven people run it.

I spent last week inside its data. Helen is 101, lives in a senior assisted living community, and gets postcards from strangers a few times a month. She told the site's blog: "It's almost like taking a trip - you get a picture in your mind. It's like a little vacation." A member in Germany wrote that during her years of depression, sending out cards "was the only reason for me to leave my house."

Here's the part that got me. Being a member has gotten objectively worse every year. The mail is slower now (about 20 days a card) and stamps cost actual money (three euros, in Finland). By every rule of the internet this thing should be dead. Instead they mail about five million cards a year, through a pandemic, and through a war that shut the mail routes into Russia, where 112,727 members are still signed up and waiting. The site refused to ban them, by the way.

Right now there are 422,616 postcards somewhere between strangers. Mail bags, planes, bicycle baskets. Somebody's about to have a really good Tuesday and they don't know it yet.

It's so refreshing to see that in Today's AI world, people are waiting to hear from someone they don't know for over 20 days.

Interactive version, if anyone wants to see it.

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[u/Euphoric_Barracuda_7]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

[u/Mastbubbles → u/Euphoric_Barracuda_7]

<3

[u/HollingersCat]

This is fantastic! I've been doing Postcrossing for about a year now and it really helped me get through grad school. Feel free to share this over on r/Postcrossing -- I think a lot of folks over there would love to see it!

[u/snakespit → u/HollingersCat]

Are you encouraging cross posting to post crossing? 😏

[u/HollingersCat → u/snakespit]

Gotta cross post this post to post crossing as a crossover 😉😉😉

[u/Mastbubbles → u/HollingersCat]

Ohh didn't know about it

[u/txbredbookworm]

Say I mailed a postcard to you, the website give me an identifying postcard number to write on the sending postcard, you input that on your end as confirmation of receiving the postcard, and a little digital version of the postcard pops up on your profile as: i have received this postcard from this user

[u/oakphill]

And, to increase difficulty, postcards for sale are becoming rare this days of Instagram and social media. I love sending them to family when I’m in vacations, and in many cities I could not find any one to buy. (Pro tip: it seems that if you print a photo in 4x6 and just write the necessary information on the back and put a stamp, it will be delivered correctly. I still have to try it. )

[u/Adorable_Ball_9333]

I would love to try this as it’s not as intense as a pen pal letter.

[u/Ill-Hippo-9827]

"A little vacation" is so sweet like such a simple idea but it can make someone feel remembered by a person they've never even met

[u/Either_Ant8903]

while this is really nice, I really dont know if I want to give my address to complete strangers ...

[u/Pussa_Nil]

That's really cool!

[u/Mastbubbles → u/Pussa_Nil]

I know right

[u/txbredbookworm]

Yes, Postcrossing is a beautiful great website. A nice way to connect with strangers. Nearly 20 years ago, i joined it as a recommendation from my aunt. I have yet to return. But I have some great memories. People wete so kind! And about my age now or younger when we would send mail to each other.

[u/sammanthax345]

There is also r/randomactsofcards, like r/postcrossing where people send cards to and from all over the world. It's a fun hobby to have and can be very creative and therapeutic.