Austria's coronavirus stamps made from toilet paper go on sale
Austria's post office has unveiled a new coronavirus-themed stamp, printed on toilet paper in an ironic nod to the stockpiling which took place at the start of the pandemic.
Adorning the stamps is a picture of a baby elephant, adopted by the Austrian government at the beginning of the pandemic as a symbol of the one-metre (three feet) distance from others needed to help prevent transmission of the virus.
"If you put ten of the stamps end to end you get the length of a baby elephant," explained Austrian Post spokesman Markus Leitgeb.
The stamps are presented in block format in the size of a standard 10 centimetre-wide piece of toilet paper, complete with perforations to enable a smaller piece to be torn off as a standalone stamp.
READ MORE: Austria Post produces ‘three-ply toilet paper stamps' to promote social distancing
There is no need to moisten the stamps, which come with an adhesive backing already attached. A total of 300,000 copies have already been printed.
The stamps, made from recycled paper, were originally meant to be issued earlier in the pandemic but a lack of absorbent paper put the project on hold.
READ: These are the important dates if you want your package to arrive by Christmas
They will go on sale on Friday for the price of 5.50 euros, half of which will go to charity. "We hope we've found a good balance between making people smile but still being useful," said Leitgeb.
Very witty: Austria's postal service prints Covid-19 stamps on toilet paperhttps://t.co/5ukfXEQEJy
— Violet Lemay (@violetlemay) October 24, 2020
Austria prints a postage stamp to remember COVID-19 by, on toilet paper https://t.co/YbhZOMW2Zp
— Calgary Herald (@calgaryherald) October 24, 2020
The baby elephant returns
The stamp includes Austria’s famous ‘baby elephant’ - a symbol in the fight against the virus.
This has been discussed in Austrian media as the ‘return of the baby elephant’. During the first wave of the pandemic, Austria sought to encourage participation with the social distancing requirement by telling people to stay ‘a baby elephant apart’.
People are now legally required to stay a baby elephant’s distance apart from each other in public, provided that elephant is one-metre long.
Comments
See Also
Adorning the stamps is a picture of a baby elephant, adopted by the Austrian government at the beginning of the pandemic as a symbol of the one-metre (three feet) distance from others needed to help prevent transmission of the virus.
"If you put ten of the stamps end to end you get the length of a baby elephant," explained Austrian Post spokesman Markus Leitgeb.
The stamps are presented in block format in the size of a standard 10 centimetre-wide piece of toilet paper, complete with perforations to enable a smaller piece to be torn off as a standalone stamp.
READ MORE: Austria Post produces ‘three-ply toilet paper stamps' to promote social distancing
There is no need to moisten the stamps, which come with an adhesive backing already attached. A total of 300,000 copies have already been printed.
The stamps, made from recycled paper, were originally meant to be issued earlier in the pandemic but a lack of absorbent paper put the project on hold.
READ: These are the important dates if you want your package to arrive by Christmas
They will go on sale on Friday for the price of 5.50 euros, half of which will go to charity. "We hope we've found a good balance between making people smile but still being useful," said Leitgeb.
Very witty: Austria's postal service prints Covid-19 stamps on toilet paperhttps://t.co/5ukfXEQEJy
— Violet Lemay (@violetlemay) October 24, 2020
Austria prints a postage stamp to remember COVID-19 by, on toilet paper https://t.co/YbhZOMW2Zp
— Calgary Herald (@calgaryherald) October 24, 2020
The baby elephant returns
The stamp includes Austria’s famous ‘baby elephant’ - a symbol in the fight against the virus.
This has been discussed in Austrian media as the ‘return of the baby elephant’. During the first wave of the pandemic, Austria sought to encourage participation with the social distancing requirement by telling people to stay ‘a baby elephant apart’.
People are now legally required to stay a baby elephant’s distance apart from each other in public, provided that elephant is one-metre long.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.