US POSTAL SERVICE TO ISSUE NEW BEAUTIFUL PRIORITY STAMPS!

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service has revealed two additions to the 2020 Stamp Program: Big Bend and Grand Island Ice Caves. Both stamps will be released on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020. There will be no national first-day-of-issue ceremony for these stamps. Details on obtaining first-day-of-issue cancellations will be announced in a future Postal Bulletin issue.

These stamps are a convenient way for customers to pay for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express Flat Rate shipping with a single stamp. Priority Mail is a fast domestic service that includes flat rate shipping in one, two or three business days based on where your package starts and where it’s being sent. Priority Mail Express is the fastest domestic service, with limited exceptions; available 365 days a year, with a money-back guarantee and delivery shipping to most U.S. addresses, including PO Boxes.

Big Bend
With this Priority Mail stamp, the Postal Service celebrates the beauty of the Big Bend region in West Texas, where river, mountain and desert ecosystems coexist in its vast expanses. The stamp art depicts the Rio Grande flowing between the sheer limestone cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with original art by Dan Cosgrove.

Grand Island Ice Caves
With this new Priority Mail Express stamp, the Postal Service celebrates the winter beauty of the Grand Island Ice Caves in Lake Superior. Located near Munising on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Grand Island is marked by massive sandstone bluffs. Impressive in any season, the bluffs are especially dramatic in winter when lake water seeps into the crevices and caverns, forming magnificent ice curtains and icicles that hang like stalactites from ceilings. The stamp art features a colorful illustration of how one of these ever-changing ice caves might appear from the inside looking out toward the west at sunset. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with original art by Dan Cosgrove.

WHAT WILL THE EIFFEL TOWER'S NEW COLOR BE?

When you visit Paris today, you can expect to see the Eiffel Tower painted in shades of brown. And there’s no questioning that these blend perfectly into the Parisian skyline.

However, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, the Eiffel Tower has seen no fewer than 18 repaints during its lifetime (which totals just under 120 years). France may be the city of high fashion but, it still makes mistakes. Like any fashionista, the Eiffel Tower has committed a fair few fashion faux-pas during its time.

15 Facts About the Eiffel Tower

Built in the late 19th Century, the Eiffel Tower was first painted in a ‘Venetian red’ which is a dark burgundy colour. Within a year the Iron Lady was repainted a deep brown shade. So yes, this is why all of those posters of the World Fair in Paris don’t depicting the Eiffel Tower as red…

The Eiffel Tower is a 324 m high lattice tower made of wrought iron on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It’s construction was started on January 28, 1887 and completed on March 15, 1889. Eiffel tower was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. The Tower gets a new paint job every 7 years.

Many Parisians hated the Eiffel Tower when it was first erected in 1889. Although it may seem impossible now, the sentiment is perhaps more believable when you consider that the monument was originally painted red.

In its 129 year history, the Eiffel Tower has had 19 different paint jobs. And when the monument undergoes its 20th painting later this year, the Ministry of Culture and the City of Paris will decide if its current subdued metal color will remain — or if something else will take its place.

“We will rediscover and revive these old colors, like we do when we restore an old painting,” a specialist from the ministry told Le Parisien. “This will give some food for thought as to whether or not to add nuances to the current hue.”

According to Gustave Eiffel, the French civil engineer and architect, the original red color made it easier to protect the structure from rust. But since its construction, the tower has been painted ochre, yellow and several shades of brown. Once there was an ombre paint effect that faded as the tower reached the sky.

It will take 60 tons of paint to cover Paris’s Iron Lady in whatever color the ministry chooses, according to The Local. Painting will begin in October and is likely to last three years as part of a longer project. Over the next 15 years, the Eiffel Tower will undergo a $369-million (€300-million) renovation, including installation of a bullet-proof glass wall around the monument.

Eiffel Tower Elevator Ride