India’s famous red mailbox is said to be a gift from the British Empire. However, when the British first introduced pillar boxes to India in the 19th century, they were not red at all – they were green. (Image: X)

The green color blends well with the trees and shrubs of India, and people keep walking by them. In order to solve this problem, Britain changed its standard color to bright red in 1874 to make the boxes impossible to miss, and India followed suit. (Image: X)

Although India uses red for general mail, it also uses green boxes specifically for local city mail and blue for express major cities to help sort mails faster. However, this sight is very rare. (Image: X)

While most former British colonies kept the red boxes, China went in the opposite direction with dark green. This tradition began long ago on the Internet, during the late Qing Dynasty. It is said that when the Qing Empire established its modern postal services, it chose dark green as its official brand color.

After the founding of the People’s Republic, the government kept the color green, which symbolizes peace and prosperity. Ultimately, this became a political symbol of sovereignty. When Hong Kong was returned to China in 1977, the iconic British-era red postboxes were painted green to reflect Chinese sovereignty. (Image: X)

The United States took a very practical path to reaching its dark blue standard. In the early 1900s, U.S. mailboxes were often painted red or dark green. In 1909, the government issued a ban on red boxes because fire hydrants were red. The government was concerned that in the event of an emergency, people or postmen might confuse the red mailbox with life-saving firefighting equipment. (Image: Pexels)

After World War I, the U.S. Army donated huge amounts of leftover Draff olives (Army Green) to the Post Office, so the boxes remained green for decades. It wasn’t until 1971, when the Post Office became USPS, that they finally switched to the solid patriotic navy blue color we see today. (Image: Pexels)