"The Birds and The Bees... and The Bats"This post may be too disturbing for any more sheltered or easily upset readers. I myself am quite disturbed by this topic, as evidenced by the rant I am now sharing with you. I went to the Post Office to buy stamps the other day. This expedition is generally without excitement, except for the mild heart attack that any reasonable person has when they realize that stamps cost $.41 a piece nowadays. As I stood in line, I saw that there were lots of cute stamps - some Tiffany stained glass, pretty flowers, Marvel Comics, Disney characters... How could I decide which ones I wanted? I told the nice lady that I would like a sheet of 20 stamps and she pulled out what appears to be some sort of flowery stamp. I had been thinking I would go for the Tiffany stained glass stamps, but these looked colorful and cheerful so I wasn't about to complain. After I paid the unreasonable price of $8.20 for the sheet, I sat in the car and realized.... my stamps were not just flowers. The stamps were called "Pollination" and depicted flowers being pollinated by pollinating insects and animals. This is nasty enough when you think about the fact that it is basically floral and faunal reproduction, but I digress. A most disturbing moment dawned in my afternoon when I saw that these stamps had bats on them. Like the flying rodents who carry rabies. Gross. I don't really know what to say concerning the horror I feel about sending cards and notes with bats on them. My first reaction was to assume that the letters might possibly carry rabies. I know all about rabid bats after watching an episode of HOUSE about that this summer. Though I am appalled and shocked by this vulgar display of rabid animals, the USPS (apparently) is very excited about what these stamps represent for the general public. This quote is taken from a usps.com article here. These stamps, they say, "consist of four images arranged in two alternate and interlocking patterns. The intricate design of these beautiful stamps emphasizes the ecological relationship between pollinators and plants and suggests the biodiversity necessary to ensure the viability of that relationship.
"These stamps are a special way to honor the beauty that is in our midst each day," said Yverne Pat Moore, Postmaster, Washington, DC, U.S. Postal Service. "The animals featured on the stamps are beautiful ambassadors of nature.”
This is a picture of the stamps back in the day when you didn't have to choose between medicine to save your grandma's life and sending mail: 
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