I once sent a letter to a friend from Costa Rica, not with a map, but the address showed country, village, name of the recipient and, in Spanish, “the blue door’s house by the green door’s house”. Not a single numerical code.
So my friend gave it to me, so I sent it and so it arrived.
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this is exciting! What I find very interesting: I use the homepage of what3words by default in German and it generates three german words (that have nothing to do with yours - i.e. not a translation) for your location. If you don’t mind, I will extend this experiment and send a card to the three german words given for your location as well and see what happens?
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This thread gets better and better. Loving all the experiments.
25 years ago, I was on holiday with a friend, who sent a postcard within the UK to something like “the house with the blue door two down from the house with the caravan on the front drive”. She did name the road and town.
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Hi @anon84030332 WOW! Danke and well let’s see what happens. I’ve just been to my nearest postbox and sent both my envelope with map on and the postcard… lol
Take care and if you really want, then please do PM me your What3Words, I can’t say IF you’ll get it or well it’d be nice IF the postcard got to you…
I will send proof of course! As for Royal Mail and then where i goes after that? Who knows…
All the best…
Ed
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I once did this successfully with a friend’s vacation home in Switzerland. It has been many years ago though, before the inernet, so I had no way to find out more about addressing it properly - I drew a map using my school atlas and described the house, of which I had a photo.
While I find your experiments interesting, I have to say I’m kind of on the fence of creating work for posties just out of curiosity … they may be less motivated the next time someone really needs the extra service.
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Ufff… That what3words experiment is rather risky. I’ve just learned what was it and I find it hard to believe that every person involved in the mailing process will recognise it. Besides, even if they knew it, I really don’t think them all would have time or will to check on the web or the app every time… As it’s something aleatory, it’s not likely to be remembered. I mean, great to meet a friend in the crowd, rather unfeasible as postal system.
Anyway, good luck with that.
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Millennia ago the USPS, or USPOD (US Post Office Department)as it was called back then would spare no expense to figure out an address. In fact, Dead Letter clerks as they were called back then were often the best and brightest specially chosen from the ranks based on their experience in the postal service.
Fast forward to today, the Mail Recovery Center, as Dead Letter is now called won’t even bother to try if something is “of no obvious value”, so a postcard let’s say, would go right to the trash without another look if there is no return address. I think there was a movie (“Dear God” ?) from the 1990’s that made fun of the people who work there.
As another Postcrosser mentioned, it costs the USPS over a billion dollars a year to deal with undeliverable mail, and with all the postal budget cuts, I’m not surprised they have to resort to that.
Here’s an old letter I have that made it to its destination, even in spite of the unorthodox addressing method.
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(And it was mailed from Canada).
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I’m not quite sure if your “permission” is enough. In the U.S., at least, I believe that only a postal inspector can legally open a first class letter, and even he or she probably needs a good reason for doing so. (Actually, I just read that they need a search warrant).
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My sister in law just sent me this story. I don’t think it’s featured above:
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I wonder if a letter addressed with a “mini-biography” like this would get delivered:
" His name is Jim; lives somewhere at the south end of Elm Street; owns three vicious dogs; each of whom has bit the mailman; at least once."
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This book has stuck in my brain since I first read about it years ago, with the most outrageous configurations and puzzles to solve for the address.
It seems the Royal Mail still takes some pride in offering service.
I don’t have any hope that Australia Post would even try.
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I’ve got the bit between the teeth (as we say in England) - here’s another one:
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This looks amazing. I would love to read it.
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Delivered in TWO DAYS! Australia Post can’t even do properly addressed things going across town in that timeframe!!! Incredible.
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It’s been so long I want to take a look again too, I’m hoping my local library can get me a copy from somewhere 
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My postal carrier has dropped 2 of my postcards on the sidewalk of my street so far. I don’t think they could manage a drawing 
Add images
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