Sure, Google Glasses and Oculus Rifts are cool, but when was the last time you played music off a postage stamp? In 1972, that was possible thanks to these “talking stamps” from Bhutan, which were sticky on one side, with a playable record on the other side. They are still legal for postage use today, but it’s unlikely you’d be able to play them even if you got your hands on one. WFMU tells us why:
Unfortunately, most turntables don’t allow the small records to get played as it will eject or the swing of the tone arm is not long enough to complete the record. As there is a market for international novelty stamps, I believe that this set was meant to boost stamp sales for Bhutan. There are about 5 selections of spoken word and music that are repeated in different combinations on each stamp.
Not the most practical medium for sound, but they’re SO CUTE. Listen to a few samples of what these stamps sounded like here. (Images: Dangerous Minds)
