Post Office (game)
Encyclopedia
Post Office is a kissing game played by boys and girls at parties.
Once everyone in the first group has taken a turn, the other group begins sending members to the first room.
The game has many variations. In some versions, playing cards are used to select which people get to be postman and which get to be answerer in turn.
Rules
The group playing is divided into two groups – typically a girl group and a boy group. One group goes into another room, such as a bedroom, which is called "the post office". To play, each person from the other group individually visits "the post office". Once there, they get a kiss from everyone in the room. They then return to the original room.Once everyone in the first group has taken a turn, the other group begins sending members to the first room.
Cultural references
- In 1936 in The Three Stooges episode "A Pain in the PullmanA Pain in the PullmanA Pain in the Pullman is the 16th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
" when the stooges are being kicked out of the star's drawing room, Curly says "I thought she wanted to play post office!" - In the 1941 Abbott & Costello movie Hold That Ghost, Costello's character (Ferdie) says to his love interest: "I play games, I play Post Office." When she replies: "Post Office? That's a kid's game." Ferdie responds: "Not the way I play it!" This same gag had been used previously in the Three Stooges short, Three Little PigskinsThree Little PigskinsThree Little Pigskins is the fourth short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
(1934). When a character played by actress Phyllis CranePhyllis CranePhyllis Crane was a Canadian-born American film actress. She appeared in over 45 films between 1929 and 1937.Modern viewers will recognize Crane from her appearances in several early Three Stooges films such as Three Little Pigskins, Uncivil Warriors, and Pop Goes the Easel...
tells the boys that they are "playing too rough," CurlyCurly HowardJerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz , better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine...
suggests, "Let's play post office." She responds, "Aw, that's a kid's game." Curly then replies, "Not the way I play it!" - A 1954 television episode of The Jack Benny Show with Fred AllenFred AllenFred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it...
guest-starring, BennyJack BennyJack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
is surprised by Allen hiding in a closet. When Benny demands to know what Allen is doing in the closet, Allen says, "Playing 'post office.' Kiss me!" - In his unfinished novel Answered PrayersAnswered Prayers: The Unfinished NovelAnswered Prayers is an unfinished novel by American author Truman Capote, published posthumously in 1986 in England and in 1987 in the United States.- History :...
, Truman CapoteTruman CapoteTruman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
writes: "Kissing her, according to Dill, was like playing post office with a dead and rotting whale: she really did need a dentist." - In the 1968 movie Yours, Mine and OursYours, Mine and Ours (1968 film)For the remake of this film starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo see Yours, Mine and Ours Yours, Mine and Ours is a 1968 film, directed by Melville Shavelson and starring Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda and Van Johnson...
, Frank, played by Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, is on a date with a younger free-love hippie. The date is interrupted by Helen, played by Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
. While Frank and Helen commiserate over the problems they have with their respective children, the hippie says, "Why don't you drop me off at the exit, then you two can play post office!" - In an episode of I Love LucyI Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
called "The Charm School" (aired 25 January 1954), EthelEthel MertzEthel Roberta Louise Mae Mertz is one of the four main fictional characters in the highly popular 1950s and 1960s American television sitcom I Love Lucy, played by Vivian Vance. Ethel is the main character Lucy's middle-aged landlady - supposed to have been born about 1905, and raised in New Mexico...
mentions that FredFred MertzFrederick Hobart Mertz, born in 1887 is a fictional character in the 1950s American sitcom I Love Lucy, originally from Indianapolis before his relocation to New York City. He is a World War I veteran and often talks about his times in the war. He is married to Ethel Mae Potter Mertz , and they...
suggested they play post office the previous night when a beautiful guest arrived at their dinner party. - In the movie Sweet Home AlabamaSweet Home Alabama (film)Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant and stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, and Patrick Dempsey. The film was released on September 27, 2002.-Plot:...
, Melanie, played by Reese WitherspoonReese WitherspoonLaura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
, mentions playing a game of post office in high school, during the first meeting with her old friend Bobby Ray, played by Ethan EmbryEthan EmbryEthan Philan Randall , although he is known and usually credited as Ethan Embry, is an American film and television actor. He is known for his role as Declan Giggs on the Showtime television series Brotherhood.-Personal life:...
. - In The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
(2nd year) episode called "Bailey's Bad Boy", Barney mentions playing "2-handed post office" at the end of the show. - At a society party in the 2008 movie The Loss of a Teardrop DiamondThe Loss of a Teardrop DiamondThe Loss of a Teardrop Diamond is a 2009 film by director Jodie Markell. The film is based on Tennessee Williams's long-forgotten 1957 screenplay. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard in the leading role of Fisher Willow.- Plot :...
, Jimmy (Chris EvansChris Evans (actor)Christopher Robert "Chris" Evans is an American actor. He played Cary Baston on the television series Opposite Sex, and transitioned to a film career, starring in several hits, including Not Another Teen Movie , Fierce People , Fantastic Four, sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , and...
) is designated Postman in a game that arouses jealousy in outcast debutante Fisher Willow (Bryce Dallas HowardBryce Dallas HowardBryce Dallas Howard is an American film actress and daughter of director Ron Howard. She made her acting debut in her father's 1989 movie Parenthood and went on to have small roles in films and make stage appearances for the next several years...
).
Postman's Knock
The game of Postman's Knock is a variant of Post Office. It is played by groups of children or teenagers in which one person is chosen to be the "postman", goes outside and knocks on the door. Another person is chosen by the rest of the group to answer the door, and pays for the "letter" with a kiss. Then another person is chosen to be postman, etc.The game has many variations. In some versions, playing cards are used to select which people get to be postman and which get to be answerer in turn.