Top 5 Unorthodox Deliveries

Inspired by Amazon’s recent proposal to make its deliveries via aerial drone, Wisconsin’s Lakemaid Brewery tested the concept of dropping six-packs to ice fishermen using airborne robots—until the idea was shot down by the FAA. Setting aside obvious questions (How do you keep them from hitting people on the head? How many maniacs are going to shoot them out of the sky?), we anticipated the day of 30-minute arrival of just about anything by looking into some unusual local delivery services currently available.
 

Propane

Never run out of gas and have to abandon your BBQ guests when the burgers and dogs are half-cooked on the grill. • thepropaneexpress.com
 

Rug Delivery

Try lugging a huge rug in for cleaning after the cat spilled a paint sample on it—it’s not pretty (like moving a dead body in a gangster movie, but with more cat hair). There’s a company that will pick up your rug, clean it, and drop it back off at your home. Whew! • americanruglaundry.com
 

Mulch

We’re just weeks away from needing mulch for the garden—save your back and keep your trunk or truck bed clean. • mulchstoremn.com
 

Bicycle Repair

How many summers have we endured slipping gears and squeaky brakes on a bike that was too filthy/too unwieldy to transport to a shop? • freewheelbike.com
 

Juice

We’re not sure if we’re ready to plunge into a juice cleanse (unless coffee suddenly qualifies—it’s from a berry, right?), but if we do, we’d prefer to save our strength and have our raw organic sustenance delivered. • zulajuice.com