UK postal service honors Olympic medalists by painting mailboxes gold

British Olympic champions have the Midas touch. OK, maybe not everything they touch is turning to gold, but the U.K.’s seeing a lot more of the metallic hue thanks to their athletic efforts. Britain’s Royal Mail postal service is forgoing the usual commemorative stamp with a gold-painted mailbox in every gold medal winner’s hometown the day after the athlete wins. For a service that’s been plagued for years with financial and operational issues, the initiative is being carried out with surprising efficiency. It also adds one more thing for the Brits to worry about: kids stealing the mailboxes instead of knocking them over.

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