STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep. On January 27, 1877, a person in France posted a letter. This was before the Internet, but the slow delivery was still a bit extreme. It was just delivered 138 years later. The great-granddaughter of the intended recipient opened it to find an order for yarn. The letter had drifted in the Postal Service through two World Wars. The most awkward thing for the Postal Service, the letter was marked for high-speed delivery. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.