Editing ZIP Code (section)

=== Early postal zones ===
[[File:UseZipCode.JPG|thumb|A 1963 U.S. Post Office sign featuring [[Mr. ZIP]]]]
[[File:Stamps USA, Markenheft IMG 1699.JPG|thumb|A [[Label (philately)|label]] inside a [[Postage stamp booklet|stamp booklet]] promoting the ZIP Code]]
[[File:Swinging Six Zip Code 1967.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=14:38|right|320px|A Swingin' Six video used by the post office to promote the ZIP Code]]
The early history and context of postal codes began with [[Postal code#History|postal district/zone numbers]]. The [[United States Post Office Department]] (USPOD) implemented postal zones for 124 large cities in May 1943.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Zoning System in Development |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/zipcodecampaign/p2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104222751/http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/zipcodecampaign/p2.html |archive-date=2012-01-04 |url-status=dead |publisher=Smithsonian National Postal Museum |access-date=2019-12-22}}</ref> Postmaster General [[Frank C. Walker]] explained that many experienced postal clerks were going into the army, and the zone system would enable inexperienced clerks to sort mail without having to learn the delivery area of each city carrier.<ref>{{cite news |title=Home Folks to Have P.O. Numbers Like Army Boys |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/182725652/?terms=postal%20zone&match=1 |access-date=31 January 2023 |publisher=Minneapolis Morning Tribune |date=May 6, 1943 |archive-date=February 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201032632/https://www.newspapers.com/image/182725652/?terms=postal%20zone&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

For example:

<blockquote>
<poem>
Mr. John Smith
3256 Epiphenomenal Avenue
Minneapolis ''16'', Minnesota
</poem>
</blockquote>

The "16" is the number of the postal zone in a specific city.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/04/the-bounty-zip-codes-brought-america/275233/|title=The Bounty ZIP Codes Brought America|last=Chokshi|first=Niraj|date=April 23, 2013|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-12|quote=...Postmaster General Edward Day in the early 1960s suggested combining Moon's three-digit code with the existing two-digit system.|archive-date=October 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026095632/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/04/the-bounty-zip-codes-brought-america/275233/|url-status=live}}</ref>