Incendiary Missives?

Something has been puzzling me.

Why do people say they are "firing off" an email, or "shooting" an email or some other similar thing? Are they munitions now? I'm rocket launching you a parcel for your birthday. I've sent you an inter-continental ballistic postcard. No. I don't think so.

Does it have something to do with rapid delivery and targeted recipients? Instead of taking days to show up at your house it instantly (more or less) arrives in your personal (cyber)space. Does that really make it a bullet? Once upon a time messages could have been fired or thrown or shot. Perhaps if attached to a bow or a bolt and shot at a large oaken door. Perhaps that only happened in movies. Still wouldn't you just send a message not fire it?

This brings me to a similar thing i hear people say. If one of our customers is unhappy with a job (read: product) it's not uncommon to hear, from the lab manager, that they are "firing" it back to us. Really?
Are they loading it into a shell and mortar blasting it back? I doubt it. I think they're couriering it to us. There's no firing, no shooting, occasional "blasting" on the telephone, but no projectile coming my way. I'm not being fired upon. Quit telling me things are being shot and/or fired! It's ridiculous, and as such i have ridiculed it.

Good day.

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