TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE STAMPS WILL REVEAL HIDDEN MOON IMAGE
June 20, 2017 2:40 AM   Subscribe

This summer’s highly anticipated total solar eclipse, on August 21, is still more than two months away. But on Tuesday—one day before the summer solstice, or the first official day of summer—the U.S. Postal Service will release a tiny tribute of its own to the rare celestial event. Its new stamps celebrating the eclipse are the first ever to use thermochromic ink that changes the image on the stamp at the touch of a warm finger. [SLNewsweek]
posted by hippybear (16 comments total) 30 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oh. Cool.
posted by sour cream at 2:48 AM on June 20, 2017


NIN did this with their Year Zero CD and FREAKED ME THE FUCK OUT when I ejected the disk after the first listen. I mean, the entire experience of the album and the associated ARG was just one long paranoia campaign, so having that happen made sense. But still, wow!
posted by hippybear at 3:08 AM on June 20, 2017 [6 favorites]


Post title had me hoping for something like the Doors of Durin, the western entrance to Khazad-dûm:

The design on the front of the doors was engraved in ithildin, which mirrored only starlight and moonlight. When the moon was out and ancient words long-forgotten were spoken, fine silver lines would appear, outlining the secret door.

But it's more like a mood ring or those Hypercolor t-shirts from the 90s. Still super cool and a must for any philatelist's collection

We really need to get to work on real-life ithildin.

Hippybear, I can barely listen to Year Zero because it's all coming true!

Speak, friend, and enter.

posted by adept256 at 3:26 AM on June 20, 2017 [2 favorites]


Hippybear, I can barely listen to Year Zero because it's all coming true!

It's after Trump gets impeached and the VP takes office that it all comes true, and holy shit please no!

posted by hippybear at 3:28 AM on June 20, 2017


it's all coming true

We may need The Presence to appear to snap us out of this bullshit.

posted by hippybear at 3:31 AM on June 20, 2017


Meanwhile, on the color-changing ink front, I keep hoping someone will come up with a truly artistic use for color changing ink other than surprise reveals. Hypercolor is an interesting technology, but isn't actually useful in any artistic sense that I can tell. There are the inks that are clear until exposed to UV and then color in, so you can have a t-shirt that is a coloring book outline until you walk outdoors. What else can be done with that?

So far, surprise reveals are the best I've seen from color-changing ink technology. I wish someone would come up with more artistic uses, because I find the technology (of all the sorts) fascinating.
posted by hippybear at 3:51 AM on June 20, 2017 [2 favorites]


Hah! I just finished rereading Going Postal last night. Stanley would love this!
posted by OmieWise at 5:14 AM on June 20, 2017 [8 favorites]


SORCERY
posted by indubitable at 5:37 AM on June 20, 2017 [1 favorite]


Finally, I'll be able to use a postage stamp without worrying that it might be a Decepticon.
posted by darksasami at 6:08 AM on June 20, 2017 [10 favorites]


I have these on order and am very excited about them!

They also have new ones coming out this month that are sports ball themed - they are round, which is cool, but they apparently have raised portions on them where the stitching/texture is for the balls. Which might have convinced me to get them if I'd realized.

My boss came to grab a stamp from my drawer when I was out of the office last week, and this week he said "There were so many different ones to choose from!". I do love my stamp variety.
posted by needlegrrl at 6:08 AM on June 20, 2017 [4 favorites]


But still no Total Eclipse of the Heart stamp
posted by thelonius at 6:49 AM on June 20, 2017 [7 favorites]


Fun! I like that they're including the map of the eclipse's path on the stamp sheet.

I have to admit, however, I was mildly alarmed at the name "Total Eclipse of the Sun Forever stamp" before remembering "forever" refers to the stamp and not the eclipse.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 7:50 AM on June 20, 2017 [13 favorites]


This kind of thing makes me happy to be a taxpayer.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:52 AM on June 20, 2017 [6 favorites]


Cool! With the advent of this technology, they can now put fat Elvis and skinny Elvis on the same stamp!

(This reference is old enough to legally drink.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:21 AM on June 20, 2017 [6 favorites]


That's very cool. I've also seen this used on wine labels to indicate when the wine is at the correct temperature.
posted by Miss Otis' Egrets at 2:17 PM on June 20, 2017


I went to the post office today to mail something to cortex. I had just enough money to send the package. But then I was like "Oh wait, you have those eclipse stamps?" and the guy was like "Yeah we do, they're cool aren't they?" and we talked about how stamps are getting cooler, like the sports ball ones (their words not mine!) which have the tactile aspect to them. He admitted that when the post office was empty he just hung around and fooled with the stamps.
posted by jessamyn at 1:39 PM on June 29, 2017 [4 favorites]


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