Stamps

Great Britain was the first country to issue postage stamps. But everyone knows that! (The Penny Black, a stamp worth one penny that had a picture of the young Queen Victoria on a black background, was the world's first stamp.)

However, not a lot of people know that Britain was the first country to issue stamps that don't have a specific monetary value on them. (Instead, they are marked "1st" or "2nd", in reference to the different classes of postal service available.) And it was only a few decades ago at that!

Ooh, a double dose of factoids today. Aren't you lucky?