Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

~ John W. Howell

 

Baguette stamp – credit La Poste

If you want light-hearted news, there is no better place than France to find it. Today’s good news comes from the Good News Network.

France Celebrates Baguette on Scratch-and-Sniff Stamp, Honoring the World Heritage-Declared Food

By

Andy Corbley –

The French postal service has released a scratch-and-sniff stamp that will fill your letter room or office with the aroma of freshly baked bread as it honors the classic baguette.

The best thing since sliced bread, the baguette, was recently honored by UNESCO with the status of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage. ‘ In other words, it is a standout element in humanity’s story that can’t be pinned down to the words on a page, the outcome of a battle, or the bricks making up a monument.

La Poste unveiled The Stamp last Thursday on the occasion of Sant-Honore’s feast day—the patron saint of bakers.

“The baguette, the bread of our daily lives, the symbol of our gastronomy, the jewel of our culture,” La Poste says on its website.

It will cost €1.96 ($2.12 US)  and run for a limited time. Just under 600,000 copies are set for printing. The image depicts a baguette wrapped in blue and white ribbons.

The stamp’s ink is coated in microcapsules that burst when the customer scratches it, releasing the scent. La Poste purchases the special ink pre-made, and the smell is derived from a collection of bakeries.

“And the difficulty for us is to apply this ink without breaking the capsules, so that the smell can then be released by the customer rubbing on the stamp,” Damien Lavaud, printer at Philaposte, was quoted as saying by France Bleu, according to France24.

UNESCO attempts to summarize the value and uniqueness of baguettes over other breads with the following description.

Baguettes require specific knowledge and techniques. They are baked in small batches throughout the day, and the outcomes vary according to temperature and humidity.

They also generate modes of consumption and social practices that differentiate them from other types of bread, such as daily visits to bakeries to purchase the loaves and specific display racks to match their long shape.

In this turbulent world, the good news in this article is that normal can be refreshing. Today’s JohnKu talks about normal I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Normal by John W. Howell © 2024

The world has gone nuts,

Issue a new stamp about bread . . .

And make us all smile.

85 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News”

  11. How cool is that?! Here we can barely get mail delivered let alone do something as clever as scratch and sniff stamps. Although US stamp prices will increase in July to 73 cents, a 5 cent increase, postage is still reasonably inexpensive. Time to stock up. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  14. I want some of those stamps! What a great idea. Getting my morning baguette, then later in the day my jambon avec frommage sandwich on a freshly baked baguette was something I came to love while in France. I’ve not found anything here as yummy in the baguette department.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. How cool is that? I used to put scratch-and-sniff stickers on kids’ papers at school. They loved them.

    As an old stamp collector from back in the day, I really appreciate this story.

    Liked by 2 people

  17. What fun! I wondered by the Iowa legislature went to the trouble to name the Eastern Goldfinch as it’s State Bird during the Great Depression. Perhaps as a little diversion as well?

    Liked by 1 person

  28. The visual of people sniffing stamps adds more smiles. Reminds me of scratch-n-sniff kindergarten books. Affirms that “everything we need to know we learned in kindergarten.” 👍🏻

    Liked by 1 person

  32. I just bought2 baguettes today. I love it warmed up, with a big salad.

    What a fun post, John, and how nice to have a moment of normal.

    Lol…I luv it – a scratch’n’sniff stamp!

    🥗𝖃 🥖⧖

    Liked by 1 person

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