The Zip Code Is 50

“By the early 1960s a more organized system was needed, and on July 1, 1963, non-mandatory ZIP codes were announced for the entire country. Simultaneously with the introduction of the ZIP code, two-letter state abbreviations were introduced. These are generally written with both letters capitalized.”
 — Seeing as there probably won’t be paper mail in 10 years anyway, this might be the last big hurrah for the humble zip code. Pretty soon (and if the Republicans get control of the White House and Congress again and gut Social Security, even sooner) we won’t have any series of random numbers to memorize.