Practise

Today I finally learned why they call post codes “ZIP codes” in the US. The United States Postal Service introduced them in 1963, ZIP is actually an acronym for “Zone Improvement Plan”, and the name alludes to the idea of mail travelling more efficiently and quickly (zipping along) when ZIP codes are used in postal addresses. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_Code)

This incredible stamp was designed by Randall McDougall in 1973.

ZIP Code - Wikipedia

Jan 19, 2023 at 11:13amWeb
Show threadSol KawageJan 19, 2023
@practise I thought this was a joke. That you'd have shiny services and good quality of life in the right ZIP code...
Show threadPractiseJan 20, 2023
@sol Do you mean going by the stamp design? If I understand you correctly, there is indeed an irony about how the "American Dream" very much involves ZIP codes as a metric of social / economic / geographic inequality...
Show threadSol KawageJan 20, 2023
@practise yes that’s the first thing I thought
Show threadDamon KJan 19, 2023
@practise oh when the world was bright and puffy
Show threadPractiseJan 20, 2023
@dada_drummer Also just appreciating the deep cut meta theme of postage stamps about the postal system...