ZIP Tips

Today's trivia subject ~ the ZIP Code! On the assumption that I'm not the only one who had no idea there are two Americans who have their own ZIP code, this, courtesy of the USDA Forest Service: "There are only two special ZIP codes in the country not associated with a business. Each U.S. president is assigned a ZIP code for his or her personal use while in the White House. But those ZIP codes are kept secret except for a few choice people. The other lucky ZIP code belongs to Smokey Bear, who received so many letters in the 1960s that the U.S. Postal Service gave him 20252. And we don't want to keep this one a secret." (As you can imagine, some of the letters Smokey's received are very moving, coming as they do from children, but there have been a few, equally poignant, that have come from adults: http://www.fs.fed.us/blogs/letters-smokey-bear-reveal-promise-hope-future)
   Extra points to whomever can name the year we added those five digits to our addresses (1963). According to about.com, "The first digit designated a broad geographical area of the United States, ranging from zero for the Northeast to nine for the far West. This was followed by two digits that more closely pinpointed population concentrations and those sectional centers accessible to common transportation networks. The final two digits designated small post offices or postal zones in larger zoned cities": http://inventors.about.com/od/xyzstartinventions/a/zipcode.htm