With technological advances what they are, traditional postal mail may soon be a thing of the past -- in the U.S., the national postal service just decided to cut Saturday delivery (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/postal-service-saturday-mail_n_2629373.html) -- but the Belgian post office is hoping to stay the trend with a new set of stamps that smell and taste like chocolate (http://jezebel.com/5983246/belgium-now-has-stamps-that-taste-of-chocolate).
More than 500,000 stamps are being printed on special paper with a cocoa-scented varnish and glue that tastes like chocolate when licked (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/9665001/Belgium-to-issue-stamps-that-taste-of-chocolate.html). About 40 percent of the varnish is made with a cocoa product. The stamps come in five limited editions, showcasing images of chocolate in various forms: sprinkles, chocolate, nutella, rough pieces and chocolate bars (http://www.bpost2.be/blog/nl/2013/02/06/chocoladezegel/).
A team of fragrance and taste experts worked to develop the product, researching things like scratch and sniff technology. The BBC has a video explaining how the stamps are made (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21388234), how they came to be and what regular people think of them.
Our favorite man-on-the-street response, when asked if this might change his mail habits: "No, [I'll] just keep sending through email."
The stamps are expected to go on sale March 25 (http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/belgian-chocolate-stamp-country-popular-national-delicacy/1/249256.html).
Via: HuffingtonPost