“Through rain or snow, or sleet or hail, we’ll carry the mail. We will not fail,” as the saying goes, but one courier in Virginia might have taken that motto a bit too far. Of course, it’s always commendable whenever a delivery person goes the extra mile to get recipients their mail. Still, this mailman did so at the risk of biohazard contamination: with his own blood. The recipient, obviously shocked to have received a letter smeared with red, shared his mail’s condition with r/Wellthatsucks.
First, the Virginia man found it frustrating that Dominion Energy insisted on sending paper bills even though he’s supposed to be “paperless.” That’s a hassle enough, but now getting a letter covered in blood is an entirely different concern. The red smears and texture are extremely similar to that of blood, but one Redditor in the comment section wanted to be sure, telling OP to “Put a dot of hydrogen peroxide on it. See if it bubbles.”
Sure enough, OP dropped some hydrogen peroxide on the paper bill, and it indeed bubbled, cementing the fact that he had, in fact, received blood-covered mail. As to why it happened, people have several theories, with OP sharing a commonly shared one: “A ‘Blood Specialist’ posted earlier saying the current color was indicative of a 3-4 day old smear. Which would line up with it being at somewhere in the system, being sorted,” meaning the letter was contaminated in the mailroom.
One Reddit commenter, claiming to be in the mail service for over 30 years, confirms OP’s theory with, “We bleed a lot.” His explanation is that since couriers handle paper on a regular basis, their skin dries out a lot. As a result, getting paper cuts is very easy, not to mention they bump their arms, legs, and body against sharp corners of boxes, doors, and the mail truck all day. “I often dont realize I was bleeding until it’s already dried,” he claims.
That said, if the Redditor mailman is to be believed, then the blood smear was likely not intentional or malicious. On the other hand, several commenters strongly suggest that OP throw the letter out, wash his hands, and start paying the bill electronically.
