Coconuts for the Post Office

Everyone’s having to downsize because of the recession — even the post office. But the Palm Beach Post reports that the potential closure of their local office has the residents of Lantana, Florida going a little cuckoo, or we should say, coco.

The US Postal Service says 371 stations are being considered for closure around the country. To keep their outpost from shuttering, Lantana locals have started a campaign to send up to 2,000 coconuts to Washington D.C. to get the attention of Postmaster General John E. Potter. It seems, though, that the coconuts will do the shouting for the residents since most of the messages taped to the nuts are actually extremely polite entreaties filled with "please" and "thank you."

The townspeople are also going about their protest in some more traditional ways, collecting signatures for a petition and filling out comment cards. But so far, it looks like the coconuts are getting the most attention.

Oh, and if you're curious about just how these coconuts are getting sent. Turns out, that while the postage for these nuts costs $4, packaging is included: The post office says coconut shells are a sufficient envelope.

Photo courtesy bionicteaching via Flickr.