Ancient forms of payment :)

Hi TDHers!
I just wanted to share an interesting experience I'm going through at this very moment!
There's a website out there (where are websites, anyway?) which was experiencing some problems with it's shopping cart function. I had tried it a couple of times with no joy. So I looked at alternatives, and lo and behold, they accept "non electronic" payment!
"What in the world is that?" You may rightly ask.
Well. . . after much research into the business practices of long ago humans, I discovered some fascinating facts!
It seems that in bygone days, all the way back in the 20th century, there existed these strange items called "checks." Or if you're one of the strange folks from the UK who add extra letters into words, "cheques."
The way checks work is passing strange, so try to suspend your disbelief as I explain! In days of yore, if one wished to purchase an item, one simply took out a strange magical tome called a checkbook (cheque-booque). In it were narrow, perforated pieces of paper with mystical numbers inscribed thereon. The purchaser would use a quill or some other equally primitive form of writing utensil to scribe symbols onto the check (cheque) and ritualistically tear it from the tome, passing it to the seller of the good/s.
When one wished to purchase good/s from seller/s at a distance, there was added another mysterious step. The check (cheque) writer (writeur) would place the check/que into a second, ornamentally folded, piece of paper, which had some type of alum or adhesive along one edge. The checkque writereur would then seal this second "envelope" if you will. . . using their own saliva!!! Barbaric indeed!
Once sealed, the envelope itself would be inscribed with other symbols, indicating the place from which it originated, and another set, indicating its desired destination. It would then be placed into a magical container called a "mail box." (Maile boxxe) Strange uniformed servants of the government would then come and take the whole kit and kaboodle away and through a secret system, actually deliver it to its destination!
How strange and wondrous it must have been to live back in such times.



Anyway, just wanted to share a strange ritual from another era. I hope you found this enjoyable as well as educational.

Eric (Erique)