New stamps a bonus treat for snail mail

Scratch-and-sniff option would be fun to receive!

Scratch-and-sniff stickers were all the rage in the 80s. Teachers used them as rewards for a job well done, and youths traded them back and forth, collecting them like trophies in sticker albums.

The scents could be delightful, like popcorn on the “Poppin’ Good” sticker, or bananas on the “Ba-Nanza!” sticker, or the maple syrup-scented “Think Big.” Or, the scents could be stinky, such as the skunky “Scent-sational!” option. It was a simple reward system, but for children of the ’80s,’it was an effective one.

The concept still exists, but it’s questionable if scratch and sniff ever had the popularity as it did in the ’80s.

Now, the U.S. Postal Service is giving it a whirl with its firstever scratch-and-sniff stamps.

There are 10 different stamp designs, each with a watercolor illustration of ice pops. There will be one scent on the stamps, which will be revealed June 20.

“The U.S. Postal Service’s first scratch-and-sniff stamps will add the sweet scent of summer to letters of love, friendship, party invitations and other mailings,” notes a press release from the USPS.

USPS hints at possible scents, noting “In recent years, frozen treats containing fresh fruit such as kiwi, watermelon, blueberries, oranges and strawberries have become more common. In addition, flavors such as chocolate, root beer and cola are also popular.”

Those of you who remember the stickers might remember that scents such as blueberry and strawberry were pretty amazing!

The new stamps are an interesting move by the USPS. They have the potential to spark a wave of sales based in part on nostalgia, and in part on the novelty. It’s fun to think about getting a letter in the mail with a special stamp like this — and perhaps it will inspire a little revival in old-school snail mail. It’s almost a special reward when one opens the mail box and finds such a stamp.

The new offerings will be “Forever” stamps, and they will be available in booklets of 20 for $10.

What do you think, readers? Will you check out the stamps, and make an effort to send them off to someone special? Let us know. Share your thoughts online at www.YumaSun.com, or send us a letter to the editor at letters@yumasun.com.

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