These stamps bring out the inner philatelist in all of us.
1. Mini Phonograph Records
The
small Himalayan nation of Bhutan is well-known for creative postage,
having designed stamps out of unorthodox materials from plastic to
steel. But in 1973, they issued stamps that doubled as tiny phonograph
records. The record stamps contain traditional folk songs and an oral
history of Bhutan, and can be played on a turntable. There’s currently a
full set of these stamps on eBay for a Buy It Now price of $495.
2. Coffee-Scented
As
Frank Sinatra once sang, “They grow an awful lot of coffee in Brazil.”
In 2001, Brazil issued an aromatically enticing coffee-scented stamp.
Beans were roasted, ground, and filtered under pressure then mixed with
varnish and laid on each stamp. As with a scratch ‘n’ sniff, the aroma
was released by rubbing a finger across the stamp. Mmm.
3. Hockey Game Footage
Canadians
love hockey, and their most storied team is the Montreal Canadiens. In
2009, Canada Post issued stamps that feature actual footage of historic
goals scored by famous players like Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur. The
effect is achieved with a process called Motionstamp, with digital
footage making the stamps into mini-movies. Other countries that have
embedded video clips are Austria, Netherlands, and Australia.
4. Glow-in-the-Dark
In
2008, Malaysia figured out a novel way to increase awareness about
their country’s nocturnal animals. They put them on stamps that glow in
the dark. The six designs include exotic creatures such as the moon rat
and the flying fox. In 2003, Finland also had a glow in the dark series
of stamps, celebrating their lighthouses.
5. Embroidered Edelweiss
A
stamp that can be posted or worn, this Austrian design from 2005 was
made of threads embroidered into the shape of the Edelweiss, queen of
the alpine flowers. It was designed by Haemmerle & Vogel, a
long-standing family-owned fabric mill in Austria.
6. Meteorite Dust
There
must be some very creative types working in the Austrian postal system.
In 2004, they issued crystal-coated stamps. In 2008, they unveiled the
world’s first stamp made of soccer ball material, to celebrate the Euro
soccer tournament. Even wilder is a stamp they issued in 2006, featuring
a meteorite streaking towards Earth. The rendering contains 0.03 grams
of dust from an actual meteorite, fixed to the stamp with adhesive. For those letters from Vienna… to Venus.
7. The Rock of Gibraltar
Also
in the geological-meets-philatelic department, Gibraltar issued a stamp
in 2002 whose top layer was coated with finely pulverized pieces of The
Rock of Gibraltar.
8. Cork
Portugal
is the world’s leading manufacturer of cork. In 2007, they celebrated
this fact by issuing a lovely stamp depicting a cork tree on a hill. And
the stamp itself was made entirely of cork – wafer thin, with a
thickness of .35mm. And because of the cellular nature of cork, each
stamp was unique.
9. Chocolate
The
Swiss are famous for chocolate. For making it and eating it (they’re
estimated to be the number one consumer of chocolate in the world). So
it makes perfect sense that they’d have a chocolate stamp. Well, it
looks and smells like chocolate, and comes wrapped in foil like a
chocolate bar. But if you’re tempted to lick it, don’t bother; it tastes
like stamp glue.
10. Designer
For
the past few years, at Valentine’s Day, La Poste (the French postal
service) has been issuing stamps designed by top names in the fashion
industry, including Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, and Chanel.
But the loveliest is Givenchy’s elegant design of a simple wreathed
heart.
11. Seed-Filled
And
finally, stamps that bloom into living plants! In 2007, Dutch postal
service TNT introduced a series of stamps that held seeds beneath a
layer of plastic. Once you peeled it back, you could plant a variety of
flowers, including pinks, petunias, and snapdragons.
source : http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/119879
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