5.08 · The Slowest Mail in the World

The Slowest Mail in the World

Niuafoʻou, a small volcanic island in Tonga, once had a clever way to get its mail. The coast is steep, and ships had no harbor where they could stop. So in 1882, a plantation manager named William Travers had an idea. Passing ships would seal the island’s mail in a metal can and throw it into the sea. Strong swimmers then swam out, sometimes more than a mile, to collect the can. They also took outgoing letters to the ships in the same way.

The tin can mail made the island famous, but it was also dangerous. In 1928, a man named Walter Quensell began to mark the letters with a rubber stamp that said TIN CAN MAIL. Collectors wanted these envelopes, and the island became known as Tin Can Island. In 1931, a shark killed a swimmer, and after that, canoes took over the work.

The tin cans stopped in 1983, when a small airport was built on the island. Now planes bring the mail.