RE: LTAR 12/17

[dan.strassberg@att.net]

But Canadian postal codes are parsed into 3+3 
(<letter><digit><letter><SPACE><digit><letter><digit>), 
which would make it H0H 0H0, which isn't nearly as cute. 
Someone from Canada told me that a lot of thought went 
into the alternating letters and digits. For one thing, 
if you know where in the postal code a character 
appears, you know whether it is a digit or a letter. So, 
presumably, the 0's (that is, zeros) can't be confused 
with O's (that is Oh's). I note, however, that in the 
Fixedsys font in which I'm typing this message, both 
characters use the same symbol--just like on the 
typewriters of yore.

> Trivia: Canada uses letters and numbers in their
> postal codes (example: M5V 1S1). In Canada, letters
> can be postmarked "from Santa" using the postal code
> H0 H0 H0 (those are "zeroes" but can easily be
> substituted for the letter "O"). I work for the US
> Postal Service and have actually seen letters with
> this postmark.