In the age of the Pandemic, do you still lick stamps and envelopes?

I rarely use stamps and envelopes now but when I do I lick away.

I do if they need licking, but many stamps and envelopes are now self adhesive.

Most US stamps are pre-adhesives, so you don’t need to lick them anyway. On the rare occasion when I sent a piece of paper mail, that works.

Envelopes; sure, I lick them. Why wouldn’t I? Envelopes are in a box in a drawer of my desk; it’s not like someone could infect them.

What an odd question.

It’s about preventing yourself from infecting others with your disease ridden saliva.

@ragingloli Envelopes are not a vector for respiratory ailments.

I might if I wasn’t so prone to paper cuts on my tongue, so I use the self-adhesive stuff.
And really, my spit is lovely and untainted, thank you very much! ;-P

My saliva will dry as the sealant dries, within a matter of 5–10 minutes.

Something I mail will take 2–4 days to arrive (if i am lucky) and will be touched by a minimum of 4–5 people, and run through various machines for sorting. Each of these people (and potentially the machines) will impart their own set of germs on the envelope. My saliva’s germs, being the oldest and the driest, will likely be long gone before the recipient gets the envelope.

Finally, when they open the envelope (either by pulling the side of the envelope or using a knife or letter opener) , their susceptible body parts will not be close enough to make germ transmission likely. Do you lick envelopes to OPEN them? I don’t.

Bottom line: no risk.

Stamps are self adhesive. Envelopes have been in my desk since 1996.

Stamps, no. Envelopes, yes.
If dried saliva was an issue on envelopes we would have heard about it by now.

I didn’t lick them for the first 18 months of the pandemic. Now, I will again, but most of my stamps and envelopes don’t require any water (or spit).

I use self adhesive stamps and envelopes. I have for years, but not because of the pandemic.
There was a Seinfeld episode where George’s fiancé died from some kind of poisoning on the envelopes she was licking. I am on my phone so I can’t paste a clip. I do know it was a comedy, but you never know.

^^ That was so funny! It was cheap glue. And then George had to be on the board that handled her estate. He was such a little man. Love to despise him.

I use self-adhesive stamps and envelopes, but honestly can’t remember the last time I slow-mailed something.

NO…USPS switched to the self adhesive stamp style years ago. That, plus I haven’t sent a piece of snail mail since BEFORE the pandemic. My bills are paid through bill pay with my bank. ALL my birthday cards are now eCards with a gift card attached, so NO envelope or stamp required. I’ve been extremely careful & so far (knock on wood) haven’t had Covid. Even back when I was sending snail mail, I had already STOPPED licking anything…opting to use a damp sponge. That came from working in an office where we sent out frequent mass mailings & the glue tasted awful!!! It’s been 15–20 years since the last time I even needed to lick an envelope.

If it were only stamps and envelopes, there would be nothing to worry about. I lick other things.

^TMI

Strawberries! I lick berries before I eat them! I swear that’s all. Well… Maybe…?

Hairy armpits?

^What have they been telling you?

Neither my envelopes nor stamps need to be licked. The occasional greeting card may need to be licked which I don’t worry about doing.

Business envelopes are usually with the adhesive tab thing, but any other envelopes, for example greeting card envelopes, I lick without any qualms.

I’m not a very squeamish person and I’m not and never was very paranoid or anxious about germs and stuff. I wash my hands with soap but was never into antibacterials or sanitizers, and during the pandemic I never wiped down my mail or groceries. When things opened up after a few months of the pandemic, I was one of the first at the hairdresser and eating in restaurants.

Stamps have been the self adhesive ones for as long as I could remember.

I haven’t licked anything inedible since 2003.

I pay online. Rarely I do need to send envelopes but if I do I use my finger in water, like when you make eggrolls. I have always hated the taste.

@smudges @chyna Good episode.

Lick envelopes and stamps. Not seeing a real issue with this.

My post office has a wet ball thingy that moistens your fingers. I have never used it.

Yes, if they need it. Stamps all come self-adhesive now. Except when I’m doing a batch mailing, such as Christmas cards, I’d prefer the lickable kind.

Birthday cards and other greetings still require envelope licking, and I do still send them. Email greetings are nice, but a real signed card is nicer.

I don’t know why but saliva is far better at sealing an envelope than plain H2O.
I licked and envelope closed yesterday.

I rarely send letters though the mail. I email or ship by parcel.

I wonder if they have flavored stamps?

Yes, I’m a weirdo and have nostalgia for that slightly minty aftertaste of licking an envelope.

Generally, I pay bills online. Mostly just sending a bit of DNA to friends and family.

What I lick is rather personal.

^ummm… no. I do not want to know.

^^ Exactly