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ZIP-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

You probably don’t even notice it anymore. Or ever think about it. But those numbers after the number, street name, city name, and the state name weren’t always there. We’re talking about the ZIP code, of course. What’s the story behind that original five-digit combo, more recently nine digits?

1 min read July 2, 2014

What does ZIP stand for? It’s a great name because “ZIP” means speed. But it’s also an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan.An acronym is the name for a pronounceable word made from the first letter or letters of each word in a series of words.Examples of acronyms you might recognize — but never realized were acronyms — are:SONAR — created from SOund Navigation And RangingNASA — National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationIKEA — Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (the furniture store founderIngvarKamprad grew up on a farm called Elmtaryd in his hometown of Agunnaryd and combined them all to form IKEA)SCUBA — Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

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