After 40 Years, the Mail Still Delivers With ZIP
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From Times Wire Reports
The ZIP Code, that string of numbers on virtually every piece of mail, is 40 years old.
It was July 1, 1963, when the first ZIP -- Zoning Improvement Plan -- Codes went into use, a time of 5-cent, first-class postage and one-third the amount of mail as today.
In 1963, the Post Office Department delivered 68 billion pieces of mail to 188 million customers at fewer than 60 million addresses. Today, the U.S. Postal Service delivers 203 billion pieces to 291 million Americans at more than 141 million addresses.
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