How Does Regular Mail Work? Did you already look at 7 Ingredients for Cooking Up a Great Letter and What goes on an envelope? You should! Here's how this works. When you've written your letter, addressed the envelope and stamped it, it's ready to mail. (The stamp is what pays for it.) The heavier it is, the more stamps you have to put on the outside. If it's going to another country, it needs more stamps and the name of the country. You put the letter in a mailbox, and someone from the post office collects it and takes it to a local sorting office. The people at the sorting office look at the zip code and send all the mail with that code to the sorting office in that area. If it's a long way away, it might go on an airplane to get there. Or a train. The mail is then given to mail carriers who deliver mail for that zip code, and that street address. They come around on foot or in cars or vans to deliver it. If it's raining they get wet, and if it's snowing they get cold. But they still get the mail delivered. Being a postman or postwoman is a tough job, especially when people have dogs. Pal is pretty good, but some dogs bite. If your dog is loose, the mail often won't get delivered. Next time you hear someone call the real mail "snail mail," you tell them how much work goes into getting the millions of letters and cards to the right place. How many snails could do that, I wonder?