The United Postal Service announced on Monday, May 21, that it will do something it has never done before. It is offering scratch-and-sniff postage stamps for the very first time.

While you will be able to use the stamps on any of your mailings in the United States, they will be more ideal for invitations to parties, other celebrations, and on greeting card envelopes.

About the stamps

Each of the ten Frozen Treats Forever stamps is different and will be available on June 20. The stamps feature a watercolor photo of two different popsicles featuring the artwork of Santa Monica, California native Margaret Berg.

They were designed by the Postal Service art director Antonio Alcalá and designer Leslie Badani, both of Alexandria, Virginia.

According to public relations representative Mark Saunders, all of the stamps will have the same scent. However, that one scent will be kept a secret until the stamps are unveiled in a special ceremony next month.

Customers will not be able to purchase loose stamps. The Frozen Treats Forever stamps will be sold only in booklets of 20 for $10. This will be a good way for customers to get all ten of them with pictures of popsicles in different shapes and sizes. Nine of them are on a single stick, and there is one popsicle on a double stick just like the real summer favorites for adults and kids.

See if you can spot the icy pop on the double stick in the picture below.

The scent

The speculation is that the scent could come from any one of the summer fruits that you see in the supermarkets.

The fruit could be kiwi, watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, or oranges. Whatever the scent turns out to be, it will be very distinctive and one that people will be able to recognize as soon as they scratch the stamp. It is interesting that while the pictures are different, the scent will be the same for all ten of the icy pop stamps.

The unveiling

The unveiling of the fruity smelling stamps will happen during a special ceremony at Austin's Thinkery Children's Museum on Wednesday, June 20 at 6 PM CT in Austin, Texas. The public is invited to the unveiling. If you are no place near the dedication site, you can see the unveiling as it happens in real time on Facebook.

There is no limit to the number of stamps someone can purchase, but if you want to make sure you get yours on the first day they come out, you can pre-order them and have them delivered to you.

What do you think about the Frozen Treats Forever stamps? Are you going to stock up on the stamps? Since they are forever stamps, they can be used even when the price increases from the current rate of 50 cents for a one-ounce letter.