Here's a piece of information that will send a chill down the spine of anyone who's ever designed a database schema: Our new house that we just moved into... has two zip codes!
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Replying to @simonw
My apartment is physically in one zip code, but the front door faces a street with a different zip code which is what you have to address mail to. This screws up many online forms.

Mar 31, 2021 · 4:36 AM UTC

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Replying to @aaronpk @simonw
I too am very curious what specifically gets screwed up. Is GPS suggesting the right address but the wrong zip code or something?
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If I type my address into web forms that autocomplete, they turn the address into a GPS coord, then find the zipcode of that point, which gives the wrong result. the apartment is physically in the "wrong" zipcode compared to the front door facing the "right" zipcode
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more replies
Replying to @aaronpk @simonw
Ah yes. Zip codes aren’t polygons like we generally think of them. They’re a collection of streets. The assumption of them being closed and continuous is a shortcut hack we take.
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Replying to @aaronpk @simonw
Wife works in tax. Imagine determining, collecting, and reporting tax for products on one side of the store and different tax on other side as they are different zip codes and tax jurisdictions. Insanity.
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Replying to @aaronpk @simonw
I don't quite follow this... Isn't a postal code just a identifier for where mail is delivered? If it's delivered to the front door in CodeA, surely that's all that matters?
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