Typhoon Souledor hit Taiwan over the weekend, marking one of the worst storms the island had seen in years. Winds of over 100 mph blasted through the north, while some regions received over 50 inches of rain.
In its aftermath, the streets of Taipei were littered with wreckage. While residents continue to cope with hospitalized loved ones and water safety concerns, some have found comic relief—through two typhoon-damaged mailboxes going viral on social media.
覺得危險之餘又覺得可愛. 颱風天大家請小心. #hurricane #typhoon #郵筒
A photo posted by Kevin (@kevin5012) on Aug 7, 2015 at 8:43pm PDT
Images of the mailboxes first surfaced on Instagram on Saturday. As more and more pedestrians shared photos to friends, the riffing began.
A photo posted by Jing-Ya (@lingocandy) on Aug 8, 2015 at 10:58am PDT
路過有名的歪腰郵筒 #歪腰 #郵筒 #mailbox #颱風 #typhoon
A photo posted by F͟͟i͟͟s͟͟h͟͟ (@moonstay421) on Aug 9, 2015 at 12:22am PDT
A photo posted by d’Etoile (@ehacres_design) on Aug 9, 2015 at 3:36am PDT
發現傳說中的歪歪郵筒⋯⋯ #台灣 #台北 #台北市 #蘇迪勒 #颱風 #歪腰郵筒 #郵筒
A photo posted by 時空膠囊 (@adlib1102) on Aug 8, 2015 at 11:06pm PDT
The two mailboxes are now a curiosity for Taipei residents—or at least those with enough time on their hands to make the pilgrimage. Over the weekend crowds lined up to pose with the mailboxes and accompanying postal service workers.
#郵筒 天啊好多人排隊拍照(一個台北新景點的概念) 還出動郵差×4+紅龍×n 附近商店生意超好 丹麥之屋的菠蘿賣完了嗚嗚 以後放學可以來路過一下XD
A photo posted by 張昕淨 (@cindy__056303666) on Aug 9, 2015 at 5:03am PDT
A photo posted by Angel Huang (@angel20739) on Aug 9, 2015 at 1:19am PDT
In Taiwan, red mailboxes are for overseas mail while green mailboxes are for domestic shipments. The island has used this color-coded system since 1973.
拯救郵筒大作戰💪 #taipeiboyz #underpeace #歪邀#郵筒
A photo posted by Hidel喜多 (@_hidel_) on Aug 9, 2015 at 12:47pm PDT
Phillip Ong, chairman of Chunghwa Post, told domestic media that the mailboxes will remain as they are, and hopes to turn the site into a tourist attraction. Hopefully it will be a long time before another typhoon blows them back the other way.