It's very easy to chalk up certain facets of our lives to just being "the way it's always been." From daylight savings time to time zones, most of us don't even give a second thought to the meaning ...

On July 1, 1963, the U.S. Post Office Department introduced the ZIP code program to get a handle on the heaping surplus of mail. Today, those five digits represent much more for American society. Back ...

Mr. Zip, a gangly cartoonish figure with wide friendly eyes and a neat blue mail carrier's uniform, emerged fifty years ago to help the U.S. Postal Service promote its newest idea: five numbers added ...

Hanna Horvath is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Red Venture's senior editor of content partnerships. Fox Money is a personal finance hub featuring content generated by Credible Operations, Inc.

The humble ZIP Code shows up in all kinds of surprising places. Planet Money looks at how it was born, how it transformed the mail and talks to one researcher who argues that it's gone too far. The ...