183- Dead Letter Office

Roman Mars

When something is lost in the mail, it feels like it has disappeared into the ether, like it was sucked into a black hole, like it no longer exists. But, it turns out, a lot of the mail we think is lost is actually in a designated place. The USPS Mail Recovery Center is the contemporary name for the Dead Letter Office. It's where our lost mail ends up. And eventually, if our mail doesn't find its way back to its rightful owner, it's auctioned off to the highest bidder. Samara Freemark is reporter at APM's American RadioWorks. She tweets @sfreemark.