Non-public ZIP codes (e.g., 8124G)

[Feydeau]

In this thread certain "non-delivery" ZIP codes are discussed (mainly covering bodies of water).

In this post (different thread) TommyTutone mentions ZIP code 8124G.

Looking at Google Earth, I can find ZIP codes ending in HH, as mentioned in the first thread.

Is there evidence of "non-public"/"non-delivery" (okay, I'll say it -- "secret") ZIP codes in the USA?

I do know about the "secret" White House ZIP code that allows mail to go directly to the President (although I can't locate the thread at the moment).

I also know that 20500 (The White House) is the only US ZIP code that ends in 00.

Any others?

[TommyTutone]

Just to be clear on my account, I have no knowledge whether the zip code I provided is legitimate. I just wanted to have a laugh watching someone try to key it in as I would imagine zip code fields are designed to only accept numerics.

Of course based on the question above, I know that I can lie if they ask where the zip code is located (I'll say Nova Scotia or something).

[Mindfield]

Excepting for the moment that Nova Scotia doesn't have zip codes, you mean.

[Cerowyn]

Originally Posted by TommyTutone

(I'll say Nova Scotia or something).

'Cept that Nova Scotia would be in a different country. Canada, to be exact. And therefore unlikely to use the USPO ZIP code.

[Sunspace]

Originally Posted by Cerowyn

'Cept that Nova Scotia would be in a different country. Canada, to be exact. And therefore unlikely to use the USPO ZIP code.

Yes, postal codes in Nova Scotia all start with the letter B.

[t-bonham@scc.net]

Originally Posted by Feydeau

In this thread certain "non-delivery" ZIP codes are discussed (mainly covering bodies of water).

Actually, they aren't really ZIP codes. You won't find them in the Post Office's list of ZIP codes, and they won't work on the USPS website to check ZIP codes. Those are just codes used by someone else (like Google) that are intended to look like ZIP codes, and fit with the ZIP structure, but they aren't real ZIP codes.

Originally Posted by Feydeau

In this post (different thread) TommyTutone mentions ZIP code 8124G.

Nope, that's an obvious fake. ZIP codes are all numeric in the USA. He seems to mention it as something to tell nosy sales clerks who ask for your ZIP code and other private info. I prefer telling them that "my ZIP code is 1. Just 1".

Originally Posted by Feydeau

Is there evidence of "non-public"/"non-delivery" (okay, I'll say it -- "secret") ZIP codes in the USA?

No. What would be the point? ZIP codes are to improve delivery of mail -- why would you have them for "non-delivery"? And why would you keep them "secret"?

There are some ZIP codes that are effectively incoming-only; the tiny town of Young America, MN has dozens of ZIP codes, because a huge number of the coupon/rebate offers in this country are mailed to a company there. But the people in the town use the regular ZIP code on letters they mail out.

You can go to any Post Office and look thru a huge book of all the ZIP codes in the country, or even buy the file of them from the Post Office. Hardly anything secret there.

Originally Posted by Feydeau

I do know about the "secret" White House ZIP code that allows mail to go directly to the President (although I can't locate the thread at the moment).

I'd be surprised if any mail goes "directly" to the President. Does he spend time every morning opening envelopes? No doubt it all goes thru his staff.

And the number isn't very secret: go to http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp and enter 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE and you'll get 20500-0001 for the President, 20500-0002 for the First Lady, 20500-0039 for the Birthday Card Greetings office, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if there are others that are not widely published like the 20500 one. That would just make sense as a way of sorting out the large amount of mail the White House gets. Some of it, like letters from Congress, perhaps a bill of impeachment, might need to be responded to quickly. So they might have a different ZIP code for that mail. But they aren't secret -- not to the postman, certainly.

Originally Posted by Feydeau

I also know that 20500 (The White House) is the only US ZIP code that ends in 00.

Probably true. I don't know of any other '00' one. Internally, the Post Office uses the '00' ones to refer to the regional or sector offices; thus 55400 refers to the Minneapolis office. But that's internal; it's not a valid ZIP code to put on a letter.

[CC]

I always thought that the whole ZIP code thing was only a US deal, but a few years ago in Boulder I caught the act of the truly amazin' Zip code guy. To those of you who haven't seen him, he's a busker who lays out a rope on the ground in the general shape of the US and then asks folks in the crowd their zip codes and procedes to tell them where they're from, sometimes even telling them something about their home town, regardless of how obscure it may seem to be. And when we saw him, someone yelled out a number and he crinkled up his face and then laughed and said, "No fair! You're from Brussels!" And the guy was from Belgium. The crowd went nuts, of course. Now, I don't know what that was about, but apparently there are some international delivery code numbers that are the functional equivalent of zip codes and this guy nailed it. FWIW. xo, C.