What is a letter? Answer the question

What is the letter? It seems that this question can be answered by any student, even elementary school, not to mention us adults. At first glance the impression that there is in this thing, nothing special – a sheet with the letters and all. Well, perhaps more can these paper-based communications to be rolled into a tube or carefully folded in half or four times.

This article aims to uncover the very meaning of the word “letter”. In addition, the reader will get a lot of interesting information about this already, definitely going down in history the way of communication.

General definition

Let's Try to define what such a letter. According to the data obtained from a modern dictionary, it can be concluded that this is a message that, as a rule, is expressed in a very compact form and is designed to share certain kinds of information between agencies, companies or ordinary people.

Content may be completely different, ranging from business to personal correspondence.

History

Now to write a letter – not a problem. All you need, if the need arose, – to take up sheet (in the cell, a line or just white) and a pen. Write – do not want. But how did they treated people when they had no paper?

Researchers have learned that the very first text messages of the world was written (or carved) in a kind of similar media, for example, on parchment, on a piece of birch bark or clay crock.

Interesting and unique clay tablets were found during the excavations at Nineveh, which was the capital of the ancient and once very powerful Assyrian Empire. As you know, the most powerful fire utterly destroyed the city, but the letters from that time due to the material on which they were made, preserved to the present day. Some of them can be viewed in major museums in London and new York.

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The Demand today

Modern letter – as before, the message. However, in most cases it is created and/or sent not normal, and electronically. As a rule, by e-mail.

The Contents also changes. Unlike letters, twenty, or even thirty years ago to him now you can attach various multimedia elements. For example, clips or pictures.

What is a letter? Interesting facts

Given the long history of this type of communication, it would be surprising if it is not preserved and has reached our days unusual facts.

According to research, the longest letter can be safely regarded as a parchment, the length of which is 10 meters and the width more than 7 m. In the 16 th century Persian Shah, whose name unfortunately has not been preserved, sent this message to Turkey, the local Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. For those who want to see with my own eyes on this message, it is recommended to go to the national Museum in Ankara.

If there is the big letter, it is likely that there is the smallest. Here it is something just discovered not so long ago, in 1983 in Europe, namely in the special postal Museum of Stockholm. The little one managed to pass all stages of the post processing. It even has a stamp, canceled stamp, 1883. The size of the message – 23 × 36 mm. Unbelievable.

And finally, what is the letter on the opinion of those who make changes in the famous ‘the Guinness Book of records"? Experts have aimed to find the most expensive mail message to the planet. After some effort they still managed to achieve a certain result. This value was the message of Abraham Lincoln to General John Alexander Mcclernand. It was written in the distant 1863, and to sell it managed in 1991. by the Way, held at new York auction it could fetch an astronomical amount of $748 000. By the way, not everyone knows about that in another letter of the American President was raised more than the astronomical amount of $ 3.4 million. This message has gone into a private collection.