4510 - Taipei, Taiwan

The postcard I received today is part of a set issued by Taiwan Post depicting different sports. According to the sender, rock climbing is not especially popular in Taiwan, making its inclusion in the series seem a little surprising. Taiwan didn't have any athletes participating in the climbing events.

I wonder if the choice was influenced by the Olympic Games. Sport climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and returned for its second appearance at the Paris Olympics in 2024. As the sport continues to grow internationally, it makes sense that postal administrations would feature it as part of a collection celebrating modern sports.

The Paris Olympics featured four medal events in sport climbing: men's and women's speed climbing, and men's and women's combined boulder and lead climbing. In the combined events, Toby Roberts of Great Britain claimed the men's gold medal, while Janja Garnbret of Slovenia successfully defended her Olympic title in the women's competition. In the speed climbing events, Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo won the men's gold, while Poland's Aleksandra Mirosław took the women's title after setting a series of world-record times during the competition.

Whether or not Olympic success inspired Taiwan Post's design, the postcard reflects how quickly sport climbing has become established on the world stage. Once regarded as a niche activity, it now attracts millions of viewers and showcases remarkable strength, agility, and problem-solving skills.

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3566 - Bakhmach, Chernihiv, Ukraine

Bakhmach is locarted in northern Ukraine. I'm taking this next paragraph straight out of Wikipedia: During the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 26, 2022, at least 65 units of Russian military equipment moved through Bakhmach, with about a hundred more on the outskirts. Local residents tried to stop the convoy on their own by blocking tank tracks with makeshift objects and convincing Russian soldiers not to move towards Kyiv . One man attempted to climb onto a tank and block the road with his body (he was not hurt). However, the military equipment continued to move, and Russian forces fired several shots into the air. Слава Україні!

3564 - Kassel, Hesse, Germany

A wonderful message on this card that translates to to those wh o can wait, everything comes with time.

3584 - Blaine, Minnesota, United States of America

The sender was in Las Vegas recently and bought this card from The Mob Museum. The Mob Museum, officially known as the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is located in downtown Las Vegas. It open in 2012. It features artifacts, stories, and the history of organized crime in the United States, but also the actions and initiatives by law enforcement to prevent such crimes. The museum is found at the former Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse, which was built in 1933. The quote on this card was from John Gotti. John Gotti (1940-2002) was the mafioso and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. After ordering the killing of Gambino boss Paul Catellano in 1985, he took over the family and led what was the United States' most powerful crime syndicate. He was known as The Teflon Don after three high profile trials in the 1980s resulted in acquittals. Later it was revealed that the trials had been tainted by jury tampering, juror misconduct, and...

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