Why are many mailboxes shaped like arches?

I think it makes sense. Ease of construction. A sloping roof to let water roll down. A flat bottom to lay letters.

You obviously don’t live where it snows. :-)
The curved top lets snow fall off and reduces the amount of ice accumulation.

Keeps the rain/snow/sleet/ice moving.

I’d like to be shaped like a mailbox right now (freezing drizzle and rain – waiting for the power to go out).

Around here it keeps rednecks from leaving beer bottles sitting on top of them.

it also looks pretty

The arch is one of the strongest angles in construction. Not that mailboxes have to be super strong, but yeah, it stops rain and snow from accumulating and breaking it or rusting it.

And it reduces the number of seams.

Easiest to make. Plop some metal in a press to make the arch and attach a bottom, back, and door.

I always thought it was because rolled up newspaper fits better in them. Then again I’ve never actually seen newspaper delivered in mailboxes, they always leave it at the door inside a protective bag.
But I’ve rarely seen arched mailboxes either, they’re always just a box hanging on a wall, with a slanted top door. Shows wtf I know

Look on Home Depot’s website. Arched ones are much cheaper than square ones.

In the country they have mailboxes specifically FOR the newspapers, and nothing else. The name of the paper is on the side of the box. Then there is a second mailbox for the rest of the mail.

The shape wouldn’t matter, because the papers are always secured in a roll with a rubber band, or slipped in a sheath of plastic if it’s raining.

Who still reads newspapers?

Theoretically, newspapers are not permitted in mailboxes since they are not mail. Newspaper carriers attach a tube on to the mailbox post for the paper.

@ARE_you_kidding_me I still get a paper. One of the best pleasures in life is taking the comics into the bathroom after having a coffee.
We know the paper delivery guy well – he knows everyone on the road – and we would feel guilty dropping it. I figure my $s support journalism and keep a nice guy employede for a while.
I also get electronic delivery but the electronic version does not help me start a fire in my stove, or clean windows. or catch grease, or apple peelings, or protect my clothes from oil when I’m doing something messy.