A few years ago, the folks at Popular Mechanics overnighted a computer to a sweepstakes winner. To the editors' dismay, the fragile PC arrived in pieces. In the magazine's words, "the overnight shipping industry is a modern technological and logistical wonder, but it can inflict medieval damage on parcels."
Curious to figure out what exactly happens when you pony express a package, the editors decided to conduct a crude experiment. They outfitted a bunch of parcels with sensors, and then posted them via FedEx, UPS and the United States Postal Service. Then they graphed the results! Here's what they found:


I love that they figured out which packages got flipped the most. It sounds like if you're looking to toss a salad, overnighting it via the USPS is the perfect solution! To read the full results of the experiment (including their assessment of which state seemed to have the most potholes), be sure to click here. Link via the always wonderful Neatorama.