I once had a special calendar mailed to me from my brother not 300 miles away, which didn't arrive until about six months later with several tire tracks running across the outer wrapper.
Another time I had a couple of smallish old collectors books sent to me, and when the package arrived a couple of weeks late .... it was empty. All that got delivered was the padded envelope with the whole bottom seam torn out.
Then there are all the rustbucket water filled boiler packages that I've received over the years, even though I specifically mention draining the boiler thoroughly ... to be believed!!!
There are other tales of mystery and woe that I could share here, but suffice it to say that the above examples are somewhat representative.