#Ratings: ZIP Codes I

24601

I’ve never heard of Tazewell County, Virginia, and I know Victor Hugo never did either.  This number is the first prison number of Jean Valjean in the novel Les Misérables. Tazewell is in western Virginia, near the border of West Virginia, and perhaps if Javert were born centuries later, he too could tase well, too. (C+)

11235

The first five (non-zero) digits of the Fibonacci sequence are in Brooklyn, New York.  There’s a certain charm to something profound, such as the concept of Fibonacci numbers, being nestled into a dark, dank corner of some inner city borough. From hard earth grow great flowers. (B-)

12345

I read this code - belonging to the world headquarters of General Electric in Schenectady, New York - receives mail every year from children believing "it's only logical” Santa Claus has a ZIP code comprising the first five natural numbers.  That's just sad. Why couldn't a unique individual such as Santa have a unique number, too? This is just someone learning to count and being too lazy to reach 6. (D)

00666

The ZIP code of the beast is San Juan, Puerto Rico. Now I turn my attention to the lovely citizens of Hell, Michigan.  Why, when the concept of zone improvement plan codes was being rolled out in the early 1960s, your mayor or aldermen or committee of councilors couldn't grease the wheel and get this number, I'll never know.  Instead, you got stuck with 48169. That's 6918h when viewed upside down on my calculator. Come on! (C-)

01812

This one is tied to Andover, Massachusetts. I don't know how close Van Halen ever performed in concert to this location following the release of their 1988 album, OU812, but it would have made for mildly interesting collectible souvenirs. (B+)