Bhutan Produced Stamps That Were Functional Records

In the early 1960s, an American adventurer named Burt Kerr Todd fell in love the with the isolated and impoverished Himalayan nation of Bhutan. He wanted to help the nation economically develop and so proposed that the kingdom produce highly unusual and therefore collectible postage stamps.

Among these innovative stamps were tiny yet completely functional vinyl records that shared information about and music from Bhutan, such as the above recording of the national anthem. Others provide basic information about the nation to international audiences that might have never have even heard of Bhutan.

The Vinyl Factory reports that Bhutan issued a set of seven stamps in 1972 in both English and Dzongkha.

-via Nag on the Lake