Wrestling with the American Postal Service

I mean this literally. Today I had to post a letter. First job, find a post box. They are dark blue so much less conspicuous and I think much less frequent than our bright red pillar boxes, but perhaps they were just much less conspicuous. Anyway, I found one. Which is where the wrestling began. Picture a tall confused woman trying to work out where to put her letter in. There was no hole. And as far as I could see no way of getting the thing open. I did try, quite vigorously but before I was arrested for attacking a piece of public property I moved on, bewildered. I found another post box and tried again. This time I discovered that under the top lip there is a handle which pulls down to reveal a tray to put your post in. Why is everything different and confusing and why do I have to humiliate myself in public in this way on a regular basis?