Is it Just Me or Has Some Jerk Put Beans in Your Michigan Mailbox Too?
Imagine walking out to your mailbox expecting to find some mail in there only to open it and LITERALLY find an open can of baked beans flipped over and spilled out in there?
Sounds absolutely insane, right?
Well, it happened to us and I'm honestly just more confused than anything...I guess there are some Halloween hijinks going on early in these parts.
Yes, Beans in Our Mailbox
We've recently moved and while we tried to be diligent about changing our address we still do get mail delivered at our old place. Luckily it is down the street and is owned by family so we have permission to go every once in a while and check if we got anything.
This morning, though my boyfriend sent me the following video:
Now I just have to wonder, IS THIS A "THING"!?
Is it another stupid TikTok challenge?
Why was there also an opened can of diced tomatoes on the ground? Were they trying to make some mailbox chili? I NEED ANSWERS!
What Do Beans in a Mailbox Mean?
I totally understand, it's Halloween season and maybe some local teens were trying to get some treats out of tricks like this. Maybe, they're practicing for "Devil's Night" (that's still a thing, right?)
Either way, is there any kind of meaning to this or is it just a stupid prank?
I tried to consult the internet a bit more about it but have BEAN coming up short. It's happened to a couple people but nobody really knows why.
However, one thing I DID find was how beans and other canned foods could actually be placed in your mailbox to help do some good...just so long as they aren't opened, turned upside down and pouring out.
USPS "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive
While I may never get answers as to why someone did this to that poor mailbox, we can still promote some good out of this.
Instead of wasting your canned goods, USPS hosts a food drive that they say is actually "the largest one-day food drive in the nation."
The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive, according to USPS, happens every year on the second Saturday in May in over 10,000 cities and towns across the United States.
"Carriers collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes and in post offices and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries and shelters," USPS shares. "Nearly 1,500 NALC branches in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands are involved."
Donating is seriously as simple as putting a box or can of non-perishable food(s) near your mailbox before your carrier delivers the day of the food drive! Now that's a kind of act you can be more proud of than wasting precious beans that could be used to actually feed someone other than your ego.
Also, It's Illegal
According to the United States Postal Inspection Service, tampering with someone's mailbox is not only illegal but is punishable as a federal offense and could land you in jail for up to three years or a quarter-million dollar fine.
Do with that what you will. For now, I just hope that destroying someone's property was worth it. Beans are inherently funny, I'll give you that...but COME ON, MAN!
If you too are worried about being "BEAN boozled" like we were and would like to take some extra privacy precautions, here's a guide on blurring your home on Google:
Here Is How To Blur Your Home On Google Street View