Celebrate ZIP Code Day Every July 1
The ZIP code helps mail get to the right place quickly (usually!), and ZIP Code Day celebrates this simple but important invention.
Postal codes were used in various parts of the world and some areas of the US since the early 1900s. But the ZIP code’s 5-digit sequence went national in the US on July 1, 1963.
ZIP Code Day commemorates that day.
The ZIP Code Through History
Before there was the ZIP code there were postal zones or postal districts. These were also numbers that helped mail carriers figure out where pieces of mail needed to go. They started in large European cities, like London.
By the early 1920s they’d spread around the world, including to the US. Most major cities were using some form of postal code by the end of World War II.
Around that same time the idea of a Zone Improvement Project (ZIP) code was introduced in the US.
The ZIP plus two-letter state abbreviations was the brainchild of Henry Bentley Hahn, Sr., a postal inspector.
And it was J. Edward Day, Postmaster General who made it a reality.
The Post Office Department announced the new ZIP code in late 1962. It rolled out a publicity campaign featuring Mr. Zip to encourage everyone to actually use the new codes. Among other efforts, the campaign mailed more than 72,000,000 postcards letting people know about their new ZIP code.
Mr. Zip was originally designed for a Chase Manhattan Bank campaign in the 1950s. AT&T later acquired the design and let the Post Office use him (with a few modifications) for its campaign.
In fact, it was also officials at AT&T who convinced the Post Office it needed a publicity campaign. The company had faced resistance when it tried introducing telephone area codes and thought the Post Office might have similar problems with the ZIP.
Using the ZIP code was not mandatory, but the Post Office strongly encouraged it. In 1967 the Post Office did make it mandatory for bulk mailers.
Today using the ZIP code is pretty much automatic. Even the ZIP+4 numbers introduced in 1984 to further narrow down locations.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.
How to Celebrate ZIP Code Day
For the most part, this is more of a “huh, that’s interesting” kind of day rather than a throw a party kind of day.
But there’s nothing stopping you from having a party. If you like having a reason for a party, ZIP Code Day’s as good a reason as any! Incorporate the reason for the celebration into your desert: Have a cake (or cupcakes or cookies, even) decorated with your zip code.
If you’re inviting people from different ZIP codes, include all the zip codes on the cake. Or put the different ZIP codes on each cupcake or cookie. Tell people they may only eat the one with their ZIP code on it. ;)
Some communities also celebrate their own ZIP Code Days on dates that match their ZIP codes. For example, Mount Vernon, IA, with ZIP code 52314, celebrated on May 23, 2014. Their celebration included a block party, parade and sealing of a time capsule, to be opened at the town’s next ZIP code celebration, on May 23, 2114.
Sooo … will you be having a zip code party to celebrate this postally organized day?
[…] ZIP Code Day: Commemorate the anniversary of the day the ZIP Code became standard across the US. […]
[…] ZIP Code Day: Celebrate the anniversary of the ZIP code. This simple 5-number code made it easier for postal workers to figure out where mail needed to go. We’re not sure if using it resulted in less lost mail. But if it did that’s certainly a reason for a party! 🙃 […]