Today we're going to discuss the history of the postal service. In the 19th century, mail was delivered by horse-drawn carriages, which could take weeks to cross the country. The introduction of the railway in the 1840s dramatically reduced delivery times, but it wasn't until the early 20th century that airmail began, initially for urgent documents only. Interestingly, the first official airmail flight took place in 1911 in India, carrying letters a short distance. By the 1930s, airmail became more common for long-distance correspondence, though it remained expensive compared to surface mail.