> > Why is it that when I throw my underpants into the washing machine, they come back inside out.
> > But if I put them in inside out, they still come back inside out?
>
> You have discovered the underwear problem. Soon, you will discover the left sock problem!
> All our plans are unraveling!
>
> Soon, you will discover the paperclip-coathanger-bicycle problem!
>
> (Avram Davidson, "Or All The Seas With Oysters")
>
> Next, you will ask why a letter across the country arrives the next day, but one within town
> takes weeks!

I don't know anything about the paperclip-coathanger-bicycle problem, but I *do* know what happens if you take the problem of the posting times to its logical conclusion.

(Sorry, can't remember author or title)

Pa"Ooh! An Alpha Centauri postmark!"ul