Why send a greeting card when you can send a potato?
送土豆多有趣呀，誰(shuí)還要送賀卡？

That's the reasoning behind one e-commerce site, which mails actual potatoes which feature personalized messages from their customers for $8 to $10.
一家電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站便以此為靈感，以8到10美元的價(jià)格出售印有定制信息土豆。該網(wǎng)站會(huì)把用戶的留言寫(xiě)在土豆上，并郵寄出去。

PotatoParcel.com offers customers the chance to make a friend laugh, lighten the mood, or get revenge with their statement-making spuds.
PotatoParcel.com網(wǎng)站通過(guò)這種方式讓你有機(jī)會(huì)逗朋友開(kāi)心，調(diào)節(jié)一下氣氛，或是期待朋友的“反擊”。

The company offers their product in two sizes. A 'medium' potato, which can fit 100 characters, is $7.99, and a 'large' potato, which can fit a Tweet-long message of 140 characters, is $8.99.
這家公司提供兩種規(guī)格的土豆。可以寫(xiě)下100個(gè)字的“中號(hào)”土豆，售價(jià)7.99美元（約人民幣50元）；還有可以寫(xiě)下140個(gè)字的“大號(hào)”土豆，售價(jià)8.99美元（約人民幣56元）。

Senders pick their size and then add their note, which the company writes directly on the potato skin with black marker.
買家先挑選土豆尺寸，然后把留言備注給賣家。該公司會(huì)用黑色馬克筆直接把留言寫(xiě)在土豆上。

The potato is then mailed to the recipient in a 'tiny envelope' from the company's location inTexas.
隨后該公司會(huì)從所在地德克薩斯州把土豆裝進(jìn)“小信封”中郵寄給收件人。

There's no catch, and nothing hidden inside - it really is just an actual potato with black marker writing.
土豆上沒(méi)有任何玄機(jī)，里面也沒(méi)有藏東西——就是一個(gè)帶字的普通土豆。

Past potato recipients have shared pictures of their own experiences with the starch-based communication on social media, pointing out the comical absurdity of the service.
曾經(jīng)收到過(guò)這種土豆的顧客在社交網(wǎng)站上分享了用土豆交流的奇妙經(jīng)歷。他們認(rèn)為這項(xiàng)服務(wù)有著一種違和的搞笑效果。

'The absolute craziest thing I've received in the mail!' wrote one young woman, who got a potato from her boyfriend.
“這絕對(duì)是我收到最瘋狂的包裹！”收到男友送的土豆后，一位年輕女網(wǎng)友吐槽說(shuō)。

Another young man, who received a potato that said 'Help stuck in potato factory' wrote that it was the 'best gift in the mail ever'.
另一位網(wǎng)友收到的土豆上寫(xiě)著“救命！我被困在土豆工廠里了！”，他認(rèn)為這是他收到最有趣的包裹。

A third person, who was sent one anonymously, added to his picture: 'I just got this in the mail. I'm not sure who sent it. I am delighted and confused.'
另一名網(wǎng)友收到了一顆匿名贈(zèng)送的土豆，他說(shuō)：“我剛收到這份禮物，不知是誰(shuí)送的，我覺(jué)得很好玩但又有些莫名其秒?！?/p>

The potatoes also come with an invitation to 'potato it forward' by sending a spud to someone else.
收到土豆的人還可以“把土豆接著送下去”，即給別人也送上一份土豆禮物。

Vocabulary

spud: 土豆，馬鈴薯
recipient: 收件人
starch: 含淀粉的食物

（英文來(lái)源：每日郵報(bào) 譯者：FNU張逸洋 編輯：齊磊 馬文英）