Five billion. That’s how many DVDs Netflix has shipped since it starting mailing entertainment directly to people’s homes in 1998. Five billion little red envelopes have been carried by postal workers to all 42,000 zip codes in the U.S.A., and even some military bases.

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If you lined those envelopes end to end, it would stretch 1,341,540 miles. They’d be able to make five and a half trips to the moon.

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Or you could circumnavigate the globe more than 53 times.

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And the red ink used to print those envelopes? Netflix has used 175,000 gallons of it. That’s 3,301 barrels of rum, Mateys.

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Each thin disc brings the joy of anticipation, a few hours of giggles or excitement or romance. It contains evenings curled up on the sofa, or nail-biting, breath-holding tension or goofy slumber party laughter.

Having a movie delivered has other advantages as well. You don’t have to know which streaming service something is on. You don’t have to sign up for 34 different services or even remember the password to them. You don’t have to keep track of who owns the licensing rights to this or that. You just pop a DVD in and enjoy.

I’ve been a DVD Netflix customer since 2003 and I’ve never stopped enjoying it. I love seeing that little red envelope of joy in the mailbox.

Sign up today – the first month is free! I can’t recommend it enough.

And here’s to five billion more!