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It was this day in 1963 that zip codes as we know them today were introduced to the U.S. I know your internal trivia arsenal is lacking in ZIP code facts, so we will remedy that today.
1. ZIP stands for “Zone Improvement Plan.” It was trademarked by the United States Postal Service for a while, but it has since expired, so you can use “ZIP” guilt-free. Not that you were feeling guilty about it in the first place.
2. The first three numbers of the code represent a USPS sectional center facility (SCF). The last two numbers further narrow down the location, but in some cases they are continuations of two-digit zip codes that were issued to big cities in 1943. For instance, the Minneapolis ZIP code used to be 16, so 55416 is now part of Minneapolis.
3. 90210 is, yes, Beverly Hills. Another good one: 12345 is General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y.
4. Robert Moon developed the ZIP code idea while working as a postal inspector in Philadelphia, and although he proposed using just three digits, he is still considered the father of the ZIP code. He died in 2001, by the way, and his ZIP code at that time was 34748 – Leesburg, Fla.
5. Mr. ZIP, AKA Zippy, was a cute little guy used in the ’60s and ’70s to promote the use of ZIP codes. He was drawn by Harold Wilcox, the son of a postman. But don’t get the idea that a four-year-old kid was at home doodling and his proud dad brought the scribble into work – nope, Harold Wilcox was an art director working for the Cunningham and Walsh advertising agency. He drew the cartoon to look like a little kid had drawn it, though, and originally named him Mr. P.O. Zone.
6. Ethel Merman recorded a song to the tune of “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah” to promote the new ZIP codes.
7. Places with their own zip codes include the White House (the one for the president and his family to receive personal mail is secret), the World Trade Center (prior to Sept. 11), Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, and most recently, Dodgertown in California. Smokey Bear also received his own code at the height of the “Only you can prevent forest fires” campaign in 1964: 20252.
8. The wealthiest ZIP code in the U.S. isn’t 90210, nor is it even in the vicinity. According to Forbes magazine, the two zip codes tied for first are 07620 – Alpine, N.J. – and 33109 – Fisher Island, Fla.
9. ZIP + four was added in 1983.
10. You can get instructions for looking up zip codes and seeing their boundaries here. It’s strangely addicting and kind of like finding shapes in clouds… or not. I think I need to get outside and enjoy nature more.
Comments (14)
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# 3 is incorrect. Zip code 44444 is assigned to Newton Falls Ohio.
http://www.city-data.com/zips/44444.html
posted by Scott Bradley on 7-1-2009 at 4:07 pm
In addition “22222″ is the Marine Corps Institute in Virginia, “55555″ will end up in Young America, Minnesota.
posted by John on 7-1-2009 at 4:52 pm
Jester Residence Hall at the University of Texas had its own zip code until 1986.
posted by Stacy on 7-1-2009 at 5:15 pm
hmm, when I looked up those codes on the USPS site, they told me they were not in use. Of course, now it seems to not be working, so maybe it was broken =P
posted by stacy on 7-1-2009 at 5:36 pm
Re: 4 – I’ve lived in the Leesburg area for about 13 years (on and off during my college years) and had no idea the Father of the Zip Code passed away here! Neat trivia.
posted by C on 7-1-2009 at 7:33 pm
43210… Ohio State University. Go Bucks!
posted by Amy on 7-1-2009 at 7:38 pm
01010 (for all those who deal in binary). Brimfield, MA.
(no – I didn’t look it up. I have relatives there).
posted by JeffH on 7-1-2009 at 8:25 pm
University of Vermont = 05402. I guess it’s not that uncommon. Also, most of the websites I’ve looked at seem to indicate that the White House is 20500. Some even suggest the -0001 suffix routes things to the CIC, and -0002 will route mail to the First Lady…
posted by Frank on 7-1-2009 at 11:21 pm
I have a hard time believing #6 is true especially since it won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for it’s inclusion in the Disney film “Song of the South.”
posted by Space Cowgirl on 7-2-2009 at 3:06 am
Oh…my bad…I misread #6. Sorry.
posted by Space Cowgirl on 7-2-2009 at 3:07 am
Back in the 80’s Canada Post started a “Write to Santa” program, where kids could write a letter to Santa and he’d write back. His postal code was H0H 0H0.
posted by Jenny on 7-2-2009 at 9:08 am
Jenny – that’s still true today, despite some recent mishaps (an ottawa centre had some… rather unique temps with… unique replies). Sometimes I send letters on behalf of friends so they’ll get a surprise.
posted by Anaximander on 7-2-2009 at 9:10 pm
When the OCR (Optical Character Reader) in the Cincinnati, OH failed to read the horizontal bar on the “H” all “Ohio” mail was routed to MA, Zip Code OlllO
posted by Richard Stewart on 7-5-2009 at 11:12 am
Agawam, MA is 01001, lower numerically than Brimfield.
posted by Bob on 10-21-2009 at 2:11 pm