Did you know that there are mailboxes underwater all over the world? Yes, there are a total of five underwater mailboxes that are there to take care of your important messages that you might want to send while diving underwater.
Hideaway Island, Vanuatu
This underwater post office is located off the coast of Hideaway Island in Vanuatu. It is one of the most famous ones and was built back in 2003. It is situated at a depth of 3 meters and offers special waterproof postcards that the tourists can put in the submerged post box using their own hands or even ask the staff to do this for them.
A scuba-wearing postal worker will dive down to the postbox at the designated time and shall retrieve the postcards from the postbox. The postcards will be stamped underwater using a special emboss devise and will be sent on their way.
Susami Bay, Japan
Susami is a small fishing town in the Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It features the very first of the underwater mailboxes. It was also the deepest among the underwater mailboxes, with a depth of 10 meters, until the underwater in Malaysia was constructed. It was built as part of a fair back in 1999 for the sake of promoting the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail and the surrounding areas in the southern part of Wakayama’s Kii Peninsula. The idea was put forth by Toshihiko Matsumoto; he was serving as the postmaster of the town at that time. The mailbox receives anywhere between 1,000 to 1,5000 pieces of mail every year and has, so far, sent out 32,000 pieces of mail!
Pulau Layang-Layang, Malaysia
The Malaysian postal department took everyone by surprise in 2015 when it launched its underwater mailbox at Layang-Layang at a depth of 40 meters. The postcards sent from this particular underwater mailbox are sealed using waterproof plastic bags and feature a special postmark. They are stamped with the Malaysia Book of Records logo.
Risor, Norway
This is the only underwater mailbox among the five underwater mailboxes that is dry. It is located in the town of Risor at the southern Norwegian coast and has been constructed using a diving bell. It is located at a depth of 4 meters next to a pier. The visitors can post their mail in a post box situated by the pier. The post box is emptied, and the mail is sealed in a watertight bag and taken to the underwater post office. The mail is stamped and returned to the surface from where it becomes a part of the normal post circulation.
Bahamas
The ‘Sea Floor’ post office was located in the Bahamas and is considered the world’s first underwater post office that was built in 1939. It was created by US photographer John Ernest Williamson (1881-1966) who was popular as one of the leaders in the art of undersea photography. The Sea Floor post box was closed in 1941.
What do you think of these underwater mailboxes? Let us know!
