Good morning, everyone. Today we're going to discuss the history of the postal service. Before the 19th century, mail delivery was slow and unreliable, often taking weeks for a letter to travel between cities. The real breakthrough came in 1837 when Sir Rowland Hill proposed the Penny Post, which introduced a uniform rate of one penny for any letter weighing under half an ounce, regardless of distance. This innovation made postage affordable for ordinary people and dramatically increased the volume of mail. Interestingly, Hill's idea was initially rejected by the government, but public support forced its adoption in 1840. Since then, postal systems have evolved rapidly, with the introduction of postcodes and electronic sorting.