Existing comment:
ZIP Codes:
By the early 1960s, the swelling volume of mail was taxing the Post Office Department to its limits. Zoning Improvement Plan -- ZIP -- Codes were one response to this growing mountain of mail. Using numbers to stand for regions, cities, post offices, or even city neighborhoods made its easier [to] sort the mail -- by machine or by hand. Today ZIP Codes are used to help shape everything from voting districts to marketing campaigns.
What Do the Codes Represent?
Think of each 5-digit ZIP Code as a group of addresses. They might be homes or businesses, schools or apartment houses. One 5-digit number might represent 10,000 delivery points -- spread out over many miles in a rural area of concentrated in a few city blocks.
What Does Each Number Mean?
The first digit represents a region of the country. The next two digits stand for a central post office facility in the region. The last two digits represent a post office or a postal zone. So, the ZIP Code 97403 means the west coast & Pacific, Eugene mail center, and the University of Oregon. |