Barry Caplan wrote:
> Doesn't every address that USPS delivers to have a unique 9 digit
> zip code, making house numbers a legacy?
In fact no. As a trivial counterexample, P.O. Box Numbers
become ZIP+4 codes by adding the 5-digit ZIP code to the 4 low order
digits of the box number (as in my case), but I have seen P.O. Box
addresses with more than 4 digits.
For another example, the building in New York City that I live in
contains 10 apartments, equally divided among two ZIP+4 codes.
> From the US, couldn't I
> get a letter to you just by putting 12017-0042 on the envelope?
It happens to work for me because the 12017 post office has
comfortably fewer than 10,000 boxes -- in fact, it has a few
hundred at most. In general, though, USPS will not deliver
without some kind of addressee's name, so that is required
in addition to the ZIP+4.
-- John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com> http://www.reutershealth.com I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, http://www.ccil.org/~cowan han mathon ne chae, a han noston ne 'wilith. --Galadriel, _LOTR:FOTR_
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