You don't have to lick the new Swedish stamps. They have that kind of glue that works wothout licking it. 5.50 kronor for a stamp within Sweden. Almost 70 cents.
Of course no one has to "lick" modern day stamps.
We were referring to TeH history of stamps.
Licking a piece of paper and giving it to a stranger to deliver across miles to another is beyond crazy. Even though I used to send stuff "everywhere" (I grew up in a remote area) I could never tolerate the smell nor the texture of the "stamp glue." I began using a cloth, wet from tap water, very early on.