Delivering in the summer heat is definitely not for the faint of heart. As temperatures reach record highs across the country, many of us can hardly bear to spend more than 30 minutes outside. Meanwhile, there are U.S. Postal Service (USPS) workers who are out there for several hours every day just to get our mail and packages delivered to us. If you're thinking about thanking your local mailman for their hard work this summer, take a page from an actual USPS mail carrier, who has opened up about the greatest summer gift you can give them.
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Over on TikTok, user @thatpostaldad posts videos about his life as a USPS worker in Bakersfield, California. In a now-viral clip from July 1, he revealed one of the greatest gifts mail carriers can receive during the hot summer: frozen water bottles.
As the carrier explained, the temperature was 110 degrees outside that day while he was delivering the mail. When he was greeted with an icy bottle of water inside a customer's mailbox, he poured it all over himself for some relief from the heat.
"It's officially 'frozen water bottle in the mailbox' season! Thank you to everyone who does this, we appreciate you," he wrote in the caption.
@thatpostaldad It was actually 110 today, so its officially "frozen water bottle in the mailbox" season! thank you to everyone who does this, we appreciate you! #usps #amazonfinds #ups #fedex
His video now has over 70,000 likes and hundreds of comments, with several users saying they're going to start doing the same for their local carriers.
"Doing this today for our mailman! This heat is ridiculous," one person wrote in a reply.
Other carriers chimed in as well, adding that sprinklers in people's yards are another pleasant sight during their summer delivery routes.
"Every time someone has a sprinkler in their yard, I slowly walk through it," one user commented.
@thatpostaldad replied, "Same! Any other time of year, I go out of my way to avoid sprinklers! In July, I'm prancing through those bad boys like I was in a fashion show."
Frozen water bottles and sprinklers aren't just silly little surprises, however. They could make all the difference for your mail carrier during the extreme heat—especially given the potentially serious health consequences of summer mail delivery. One Postal Service worker died during his route this summer, presumably as a result of the heat.
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On June 20, 66-year-old USPS carrier Eugene Gates Jr. collapsed while delivering mail in Dallas, Texas. Although a homeowner attempted to perform CPR, the carrier was taken to the hospital where he was eventually pronounced dead, The Dallas Morning News reported.
According to the news outlet, the carrier's wife, Carla Gates, believes it was the result of a heat-related illness as temperatures reached a high of 98 degrees in Dallas that day, with a heat index of 115.
"My husband was an experienced carrier," she said. "He was healthy. He walked eight miles a day, he delivered to 400 homes a day."
