ZIP Codes

      It's hard to remember a time when we didn't need ZIP codes on our letters and packages. Though I dare say it compares with the 19th century creation of the Dewey Decimal System as one of the 20th century's best ideas for organizing the job of delivery into a specific and repeatable process. The ZIP will be in use long into this century as it is now translated into what is called Postnet and printed on mailpieces for use by automated sorting machines. Some further history from our pals at Wikipedia:

     The ZIP code is the system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service (USPS) since 1963. The letters ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan. In 1967, these were made mandatory for second- and third-class bulk mailers, and the system was soon adopted generally.

       My hunch is that most people who grew up in Ridgewood still remember the village's ZIP codes as 07450. Though given the transient nature of people now I suspect these same folks would be hard pressed to name all the other towns ZIP codes they have lived in. For myself, I can remember my college town's ZIP and the one we had when we had a home on Hilton Head Island. All the rest of my way stops have long ago been erased from my memory or were changed to make any memory of them superfluous.