Mr. Zip and Postman Pat

The USPS News Link has posted a series of photos of Washington 2006 on-line.

Among them is the one shown at the right of Mr. Zip and Postman Pat.

The Mr. ZIP character was used by the Postal Service to advertise the idea of the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) postal coding system beginning in 1964.

According to Zip-Codes.com, Mr. Zip’s theme song was “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah” sung by Ethel Merman. He has appeared on several stamps, stamp selvage and various post office publicity items and advertising campaigns.

The site goes onto say, "In 1986, Mr. Zip was retired by the post office. The new nine-digit Zip + 4 Code had been developed, and the Post Office felt that their little ambassador had become 'an anachronism' that needed to be put to rest."

Postman Pat is the main character of a popular BBC animated children’s television series. The Postman Pat series, which first appeared on BBC TV in 1981, concern the adventures of Pat, a postman in the (fictional) Yorkshire village of Greendale.

To see some other photos of Washington 2006, click here.