U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for July 6

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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SATURDAY, JULY 6: MAIL CALL

Profile America — Saturday, July 6th.  The month of July has put its stamp on the U.S. Postal Service history.  At the beginning of the month in 1847, the first post office issued stamps went on sale.  A five-cent stamp pictured Benjamin Franklin, while one costing 10 cents honored George Washington.  Before then, there were no uniform stamps — a haphazard system of private postal services around the country had issued their own.  And in 1963, the postal service introduced the five-digit zone improvement plan — or ZIP Code — to help speed mail service.  That year, Americans sent nearly 68 billion pieces of mail.  Lately, the postal service handles 170 billion pieces of mail annually.  You can find current data on the country's economy by downloading the new "America's Economy" mobile application at www.census.gov/mobile.

Sources:  National Postal Museum

               Historical Statistics of the United States:  Colonial Times to 1970, p. 804

               Statistical Abstract of the United 2012, t. 1127

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau