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Mailmen Explain Why They Always Wear Shorts Even In The Cold Weather
Mailmen have explained why they wear shorts all year round, regardless of the weather.
No matter how wet and miserable the weather is, your mailman will likely arrive with your post wearing shorts.
Some people have questioned why this is, especially when it’s cold.
Well, it turns out there’s a very logical reason behind it.
Mailmen are out every day of the year
Mailmen and mailwomen execute their duties every day of the year.
A phrase associated with mail carriers, often called the ‘mailman’s oath,’ goes: ”Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
This is not an official motto of the United States Postal Service (USPS), but it is a widely recognized, informal creed that originated from an inscription on New York City’s James A. Farley Post Office Building.
Why do mailmen wear shorts?
People got their answer to the question when one Redditor asked: “Why do you wear shorts all year round no matter the weather?”
They said they were unsure whether it’s simply tradition in the mail industry or whether mailmen do it for a laugh.
The question has now gone viral and received a ton of responses – it turns out mailmen have a very sensible reason for their attire.
One mailman explained: “Current postie, it really is just because it gets hot doing the job.
“One round I cover I wear trousers just because of the wind (made the mistake once and had windburn all up my legs) but that particular village happens to be the highest point of the town and is a massive wind tunnel.
“All other rounds, I’m in shorts pretty much all year.”
Another person weighed in: “My boyfriend is a postie, and whenever I ask him about the shorts, he says that he stays warm because he’s walking all day, and jeans are too uncomfortable to wear when you’re doing 30,000 steps a day.
“He does occasionally wear joggers, but that’s once in a blue moon.”
A third wrote: “It lets your legs breathe; even in cool temperatures it can get warm when walking so much.
“Plus, when it rains, your legs can dry faster than wet trousers legs can. I used to wear trousers in winter, though some still braved it year-round.”
UPS driver @SkylerStutzman echoed this on YouTube, explaining: “This is probably one of the most common questions I get asked every single winter.
“You see, I’m not going to be able to answer this for every brother and sister out there in brown, but I can answer this one for myself.
“You see, here in the Pacific Northwest, we don’t deal with snow or really that cold of weather, but what we do deal with is a lot of water.
“Now, I’m almost certain of it, at some point in your life, you have dealt with wet pant legs.
“You see, when the pant legs get wet, and as the day goes on, the moisture just keeps wicking up further and further up the pant legs.
“This is uncomfortable all day long.”
One mailman provides different explanation
Yet one mailman insisted it’s part of a competition between mailmen and mailwomen, as they want to see who can walk the furthest in shorts.
“I worked many years ago for a few months as a postie,” they shared.
“The depot had a running bet where everyone paid £1 a week into a pot, with the winner getting to give the entire fund to a charity of their choice.
“The competition was to see who could go furthest into the winter in shorts. As the snow kicked in during January, it was down to two die-hards.
“Eventually, as spring kicked in, it was deemed a tie, the pot was split between the two, raising several hundred each.”
So there you have it: mailmen simply wear shorts so they don’t overheat.
Considering they walk miles daily, it’s a fair enough reason to wear shorts all year round.
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