Okay, for the last 17 months, I have tried to figure out why all envelopes I buy in China have no glue...no mechanism at all with which to seal them up. It’s frustrating. Every time I have to mail something (which is often), I have to tape the envelope closed, and if I happen to want to mail something on a whim or have forgotten to tape the envelope closed but go all the way to post office before I realize this, I’m screwed. Or at least I thought I was.

Until today...

Today...finally, finally, FINALLY I figured it out. Each post office keeps a little jar of glue and a paintbrush behind the desk, and when a customer needs to seal an envelope, she simply asks for the glue jar and paints her envelope shut.

To be honest, I don’t know why I didn’t figure this out before. I spend a lot of time in post offices (as a writer, more than most) and I never saw the glue jar out before (or I didn’t connect the glue jar with sealing an envelope).

But today, the blue plastic glue jar was right there in plain sight and the man in front of me was dutifully sealing up his envelopes.

Ta da!

Another mystery in China solved!