Postcard-traveler, which spread through the ground 4 times Bashny.Net

Read more about the amazing story of a single postcard, which flew around the earth for a long time, but eventually returned to its owner. Further, the author's text!





It was a winter evening, when the idea was born to start a greeting card to travel around the globe and from that moment began the journey. It would seem that it is almost impossible, but in the end it was more than real. Continued under the cut. There is a site in the world where people share real paper greeting cards in the mail. Site work is organized so that people send cards at random to participants of the project and receive from the same random participants, ie you never know who will be the next to read your card and from whom you will get the answer. That's the beauty of the intrigue there. I came to this site for more than 2 years ago, and last winter I was already large enough baggage sent and received postcards from all corners of the globe, from Brazil, and ending with New Zealand. In my opinion it is very interesting to get different cards from around the world, especially because sometimes generous and kind people can not be limited to just sending greeting cards.

After sitting on this site for about a year, one winter evening, I had the idea to start a journey card, but that in the end she came back to me. Through this site it was very feasible idea. We had to just make a brief statement to the people by sending a postcard in an envelope and put my card, too, with these instructions. Thus: each additional participant in the project after reading the instructions, had just put a postcard in an envelope next participant kind of relay :)
Once all details have been thought out, I embarked on the plan. Instruction was drawn up like this: Summary about me and about the postcard and the reason why I started all this; forwarding rules postcards; Registry table participants (city, country, postal code, email address, date) and my contact details. Participants of the project I decided to make 15 not as much, but not so little.
According to the rules, 15 participants had to send the card back to me. A brief and very clear instructions, even for a little girl from Laos, was compiled on the leaf A5 and looked powerful appendage to the main element of the project card. I chose a special card, which recently ordered the printing of Novosibirsk. The postcard depicted a polar bear in the water. Behind the postcard, I added the word Postcard Word Traveler, not to confused and a short version of the table of the participants accounting instructions. That's all my preparations were completed card was ready to go on a journey. The idea that this piece of cardboard circled so many countries and so many people touched me very inspired. After all the careful preparations, I just had to create a party on the site to write his address on the envelope and send a postcard to a great trip.
The first member of the project was a woman from the state of Ohio, USA. Envelope with a card in the morning January 23, 2013 went to her, and from that moment began the countdown. The chances of success, I estimated 20% probability, because any member of the project could simply pick a card itself.



Some participants in the project even sent pictures of what is now the card below give an example of some of them:

The first project participants Delta, USA. February 18



Adelaina, Australia March 7



Vilnius, Lithuania March 19



Vitebsk, Belarus April 14



Bombogen, Germany July 5



Dublin, Ireland October 11



Goes, The Netherlands November 30



According to the instructions supplied with the card, all participants had to send me e-mails with information about the current location of postcards. This allowed me to be aware of that card still travels and that the project is still working. Some participants did it once, and even add their photos, and some did not write no line. So for a while card was lost and I did not hear about it for months. For example, after the party of German card missing for 3 to 5 months, and I I thought that someone took her myself. The most offensive that without letters I did not even keep track of who is stopped by the chain. But in October, I received a letter from Dublin that the card travels and this was very good news.
November 30, 2013 card has reached the Netherlands it was 13 participants. He chose the next party girl from Macao, China. Postcard went to Macao for over a month, and when it finally came, I asked this girl to complete the project and send this card back to me. I did not want to take risks, because it would be very disappointing if it was gone again.
And on January 27, 2014, exactly one year greeting traveled back to St. Petersburg.

By registered post from Macao, China January 27, 2014



Fortunately there was no limit! :) It was the first card that I sent in this project and she came back to me. The most interesting thing is that after I sent postcards more, within a month, 20 such cards Postcard Traveler, probably to at least one back to me exactly. But how strange it would not be, all cards are gone and only the first responded with a bear in the water. All others were missing after 2-3 participants. To return to the likelihood of such a card has at least 80% is necessary to send a minimum of 20 cards and when planning your trip very carefully treat the drawing instructions and the paper on which it is printed.

Postcard returned to St. Petersburg, Russia



Both sides cards



Studied in detail the accounting table participants and I worked on a calculator built around a map of the world travel cards. It turned out that the card flew 116,162 kilometers.

Detailed map travel



But since this distance was calculated in straight lines (rhumb line), and the Earth, we have a form of the world, it is necessary to be considered a great circle, and therefore it is necessary to introduce appropriate amendments. Plus, this amendment adds a correction for indirect flights aircraft. Stumbling in the scheme of Russian Post can safely be added to the total area of ​​the amendment 30000 km.
So it turned out that my card has come a long way to go before to come back to St. Petersburg. It seems such a small thing, but if you think about it very much excites the imagination, the fact that a piece of cardboard done this way, the length of 146 thousand kilometers. How many people's hands and passed the card on which the number of aircraft it flies? :) If this card would be a camera or a GPS receiver would be more interesting, but these things are unlikely someone will be sent further. Easy way to fly around the Earth in absentia send their fingerprints on a postcard in the mail :)



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