document_title: List of That '70s Show characters

question_text: who plays pam in that 70's show

question_tokens: who plays pam in that 70 's show

text: List of That '70s Show characters

text: Main characters[edit]

text:
Eric Forman (portrayed by Topher Grace): The protagonist; Eric is a nice guy, generally geeky, physically slight, and somewhat clumsy. He is a smart-aleck with a fast wit and a deadpan sense of humor. He convinces his parents to let his best friend Steven Hyde move in with them, making Hyde like a brother. His father, Red, is always hard on him. Eric is in a relationship with his longtime love and neighbor Donna Pinciotti. He decides to become a teacher after high school, and he leaves the series at the end of the seventh season to teach in Africa, and returns at the series finale, reuniting with Donna.
Jackie Burkhart (portrayed by Mila Kunis): The youngest member of the group, Jackie starts the series as the pretty, rich, spoiled, selfish, conceited, annoying, and immature girl. She makes thoughtless and superficial comments, which occasionally turns out to be correct. As the series progresses, after her wealthy father is jailed and her mother (first played by Eve Plumb in an early episode, and later, permanently, by Brooke Shields) abandons Point Place, Jackie becomes less self-centered and is forced to take a job. She becomes more needy of genuine love and affection. Partly as a result of these changes, she and Donna become better friends. By the end of the series, Jackie has dated three of the four males of the original group: Kelso, Hyde, and Fez.
Michael Kelso (portrayed by Ashton Kutcher): The dim-witted pretty boy of the group who wants to coast through life on his good looks. He spends the first half of the series in a relationship with the equally vapid Jackie but their relationship comes to an end when Jackie wants to marry him and he isn't ready, so he runs away to California with Donna in the Season 4 finale. His best friend is Fez. He fathers a baby girl named Betsy during the seventh season. He becomes a police officer but gets kicked off the force because he does just about everything wrong. He gets a job as a security guard at a Playboy Club in Chicago, and leaves the series during the eighth and final season. He only appears in five episodes during season eight, including the series finale.
Steven Hyde (portrayed by Danny Masterson): Eric's best friend and the anti-establishment member of the group. By the end of season one, Kitty Forman prevails on her husband to allow Hyde to move in after he was abandoned by his mother (played by Katey Sagal) and living in squalor. Hyde has a witty, blunt, and sarcastic sense of humor, and a rebellious personality. He is also smart and realistic, and the other group members often ask for his advice. Although Hyde dates Jackie for three seasons, they eventually part and in the final season he marries an exotic dancer named Samantha, who, unknown to Hyde was still wed to her first husband (Sam McMurray) when she married him. As Donna points out in "My Fairy King", that means Hyde and Samantha are not legally married. In the seventh season, Hyde meets his biological father (William Barnett, played by Tim Reid), a wealthy black businessman. Hyde gets an attractive, straight-laced step-sister from this newfound relationship. Barnett, who owns a chain of record stores, makes Hyde first the manager, and later the owner, of the Point Place store.
Donna Pinciotti (portrayed by Laura Prepon): Eric's longtime girlfriend (and briefly fiancée). Donna is intelligent, good-looking, and a feminist. Although she does not agree with what Jackie represents in the beginning of the series, they become friends. Donna is in a relationship with Eric for seven seasons (despite their break-up during season 4). She has brief romances with Casey, Michael's brother, and with Randy during the final season and quickly ends it. She rekindles her relationship with Eric at the end of the show's finale.
Fez (portrayed by Wilmer Valderrama): The foreign exchange student of the group whose hormones seem to be out of control. His secret country of origin is one of the longest-running gags on the show. He is sweet, friendly, perverted, gullible, and rather odd. He enjoys eating candy, drinking beer, and looking at pornography. His best friend is Michael Kelso, and he shares a "younger brother" type relationship with Hyde and Eric. He constantly flirts with Jackie and Donna and often makes romantic advances toward them. Initially, he has a lot of trouble getting attention from girls, but during the eighth season he becomes a ladies' man. He is in love with Jackie throughout the series, but his love is not reciprocated until the eighth season when they become a couple.
Kitty Forman (portrayed by Debra Jo Rupp): Eric's mother and Red's wife, Kitty is a cheerful, doting, often oversolicitous mother, who can turn cold and assertive when pushed too far. A nurse and former smoker, she drinks far too much. Her major mood swings are usually attributed to menopause. She is also an overly nurturing mother figure to Eric's friends, especially Fez and Hyde.
Red Forman (portrayed by Kurtwood Smith): Kitty's husband, Eric's and Laurie's father, and Hyde's adoptive father. Red is a Navy combat veteran, having served in World War II and the Korean War. Impatient, short-tempered, often mean-spirited and constantly threatening to stick his foot up his son (Eric)'s ass, he occasionally displays a soft side. His hobbies include working with his power tools, drinking beer, watching television, reading the newspaper, hunting, and fishing.
Midge Pinciotti (portrayed by Tanya Roberts): Bob's wife, Donna's mother, and Kitty's best friend. Midge was the sexy neighborhood mom Eric and his male friends fantasized about when coming of age. Although often dim-witted, she is also a kind-hearted woman who develops feminist ideals. She and Bob divorce when she is written out of the series after the third season, however, returns during the sixth and seventh seasons in a recurring role where she and Bob almost reunite.
Bob Pinciotti (portrayed by Don Stark): Midge's husband, Donna's father. Bob often brags about his service in the National Guard, which invariably irritates Red. Bob is also known for walking around his house with his robe wide open and no underwear. He eats constantly, even in bed. Bob is almost always in a good mood and is a ladies' man. His best friend is Red, even though Red sees him as a nuisance. He usually takes the brunt of Red's abuse in a jolly manner.
Laurie Forman (portrayed by Lisa Robin Kelly/Christina Moore): Eric's beautiful but evil older sister. Laurie enjoys tormenting Eric and manipulating her father. She is promiscuous, often seen with various men, mainly Eric's friend Kelso, who cheats on his girlfriend, Jackie. Eric, Hyde, and Donna often mock her promiscuity. Laurie has a strained relationship with her mother, who, unlike Red, sees Laurie for what she really is. Laurie leaves the series during the third season but returns in a recurring role during the fifth, somewhat chastened. At one point, she genuinely seeks out a loving relationship, rather than merely a physical one, with Kelso, who is dumbfounded. She also becomes attached to a baby for whom she is babysitting, and feels quasi-maternal pangs, which soon disappear. In season five, she and Fez marry to prevent him from getting deported. In season six, due to Kelly's health issues, Laurie was portrayed by a different actress, Christina Moore.
Leo (portrayed by Tommy Chong): A hippie, and the owner of a Foto Hut at which Hyde once worked. Leo is an Army veteran who served in World War II, where he was awarded a Purple Heart. Leo often puts play before work and maintains an easy-going attitude in most things, business included. He disappears from the series after season four but is later referenced in season five's "The Battle of Evermore" when the gang goes on a mission to find him, but with no luck. He returns in season seven and remains on the series until the show's end. In season 8, he gets a new job working for Hyde at Grooves.
Randy Pearson (portrayed by Josh Meyers): The newest member of the group, Randy is introduced in the final season. Tall and handsome, he is laid back, polite, and forms a friendship with Red who is impressed at Randy's skill at fixing things. While Hyde, Jackie, Donna, and Kelso accept him as a new member of their group, Fez does not. Randy dates Donna for the majority of season eight, causing Kitty to be infuriated with both of them. Donna eventually breaks up with him, and reconciles with Eric when he returns in the last episode of the series.

text: Recurring characters[edit]

text:
Suzy Simpson (played by Alyson Hannigan) appears in three episodes of season 6. She is Kelso's buddy from the police academy who is also attracted to him. Fez has a crush on Suzy and it is because of her that he and Kelso fight after Kelso lies to Fez saying that Suzy has agreed to go on a date with him when really she thinks that she is dating Kelso.
Angie Barnett (played by Megalyn Echikunwoke) is Steven Hyde's half-sister. Hyde did not know he had a sister until the 7th season. Angie graduated from college as a mathematics major. Angie and Hyde worked together managing their father's record store, but Angie did not always like working with him. She dated Kelso, which sometimes annoyed Hyde. Angie got her name because, in the seventh season, all episodes were named after Rolling Stones songs, and "Angie" was a song by the Stones.
Annette Berkardt (played by Jessica Simpson) was Michael Kelso's girlfriend for a brief period of time in season 5. She acts and talks very similar to Jackie, constantly bossing Kelso around. Eric and Donna once referred to her as a blonde version of Jackie, or "Blackie." Despite this, Jackie and Annette hated each other. Once at The Hub, Jackie said to Annette "I did not know they let 'slutballs' in here". Annette said since she saw Jackie in there she thought it was okay. Later in the episode, when Annette and Kelso were kissing, Jackie yelled "Get off my boyfriend!" to Annette, even though it was months after Kelso and Jackie broke up. This led to Hyde wanting to break up with Jackie.
Beatrice Dorothy "Bea" Sigurdson (née Heprage) (played by Betty White) is Kitty Forman's mother. Bea seems like a friendly old lady, but is cold and critical, especially of Kitty. She appeared in a few episodes in season five, often nagging at Burt or saying something rude to Kitty in a faux-friendly manner. She was widowed in "Your Time is Gonna Come" when Burt collapses in the driveway and is rushed to the hospital where he dies. She stays with the Formans for a while after Burt's death.
Bernice Rose Forman (née Larson) (played by Marion Ross) is Red Forman's mother. Bernice hated Kitty, and she was always mean to her, because Red married Kitty instead of another woman Bernice liked. She appeared in the episodes "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", "The Best Christmas Ever" and "Grandma's Dead" of season 1, and flashback in the episode "Halloween" of season two. In the episode Grandma's Dead she dies in Eric's car while he is driving her home.
Brooke Leslie Rockwell (played by Shannon Elizabeth) was the valedictorian of the high school class two years before Eric's class. The summer after Kelso's graduation, she had sex with him at a Molly Hatchet concert in a bathroom stall and got pregnant. Initially, Brooke did not trust Kelso because of his immaturity and did not want him in the child's life. Eventually, Kelso convinced her to give him another chance. Brooke gave birth to their daughter, Betsy in 1979.
Steven James "Bud" Hyde Jr. (played by Robert Hays) is Steven Hyde's stepfather. Bud Hyde worked as a bartender and is an alcoholic. Until the end of the 6th season, Steven Hyde thought Bud was his biological father. Bud Hyde abandoned Steven when he was a child and Steven was always angry at Bud for this. They temporarily reconciled in season 3, with Hyde even moving in with him. However, he would leave again at the beginning of season 4 after getting back together with Edna – forcing Hyde to move back to the Forman house. Hyde mentioned that Bud did attempt to get in touch with him again. (Bud was passed out drunk on Hyde's car.)
Bertrum Wayne "Burt" Sigurdson (played by Tom Poston) is Kitty Forman's father. He is often seen avoiding his wife, Bea. In one episode, he bought an ostrich farm, which was right next to a coyote farm. The coyotes ate all the ostriches and the Sigurdsons had to sell the house. Burt died in the episode Your Time is Gonna Come.
Caroline "Crazy Caroline" Dupree (played by Allison Munn) was Fez's girlfriend in season 3. Fez quickly learned Caroline is very jealous and paranoid. She made threats against Donna and Jackie because Caroline felt they were going to steal Fez from her, when in fact Jackie and Donna had no intention of doing so. Caroline was once found hiding in the men's bathroom looking for Fez. Fez did not want to be with someone that aggressive and paranoid so he broke up with her. Fez and Caroline were together one last time in the eighth season. She got extremely angry when she found out that Fez had lied to her about Jackie being his roommate, and when she found nude photos of Donna in Fez's Barry White album (Leo hid the nude photos in the album without Fez's knowledge, but Caroline believed they were put there by Fez). Caroline appeared again in "Sheer Heart Attack". Fez was having sex with women once and not seeing them again and then decided that he wanted to be with only one woman, so he called Caroline. Later in the episode, Jackie told Fez that she loved him and then kissed him as Caroline walked in. This, as always, made Caroline angry with Fez and attack him viciously.
Casey (played by Luke Wilson) is Michael Kelso's brother who was in the military. Towards the end of season 4 he was dating Donna Pinciotti. During their relationship, there were instances of them engaging in bad behavior, such as Donna drinking and skipping school to hang out with Casey. Donna's father, Bob, felt that Casey was a bad influence and did not want Donna to date him anymore. Eric was jealous of Casey because he wanted to be with Donna, so Eric wanted them to break up. When Red Forman and Bob were discussing Casey's negative influence with Donna and Casey, Casey broke up with Donna, deciding the conflict with Bob and Red to be too much hassle. Donna felt that she and Casey were in love, but Casey felt "I love you" is just something you could say and do not have to really mean. Michael Kelso said that his brother Casey got bored with his girlfriends and broke up with them. During the summer of 1979, Casey was teaching physical education at Eric's old high school, and Eric was in Casey's class. He likes to call Eric "Foreplay". his last episode was Season 7's 2120 So. Michigan Ave.
Charlie Richardson (played by Bret Harrison) is the son of one of Red's war buddies. Eric held a grudge against him from the time that he let some sick children win "Eric's" goldfish in an egg toss. Charlie only appeared in about three episodes towards the end of Season 7. Before the beginning of Season 8, Charlie accidentally fell off the water tower and died. The water tower is named the Charlie Richardson Memorial Water Tower in his honor. The original idea was to have Charlie stay on the show the entire 8th season as a replacement for Eric, but the actor got an offer for his own show so they killed his character off.
Christine St. George (played by Mary Tyler Moore) is a talk show host of What's Up Wisconsin. In the episode "Sweet Lady", Jackie felt she was destined to be Christine's co-host on the show. She persistently tries to get the job, but Christine St. George makes Jackie her assistant instead. After a few episodes, Jackie was fired for knowing too much about her.
Earl (played by Robert Clendenin) is a friend of Red's who worked for Red at Price Mart. Earl frequently came to work late and slacked off on his job, so Red fired him. After that, Earl sued Red for wrongful termination, however, Earl arrived too late to his own hearing, so the judge ruled in favor of Red. Later, Earl got a job working at a fast food restaurant, where he is again fired for his poor work ethic (this time for repeatedly eating the restaurant's food while on work). Earl appears in the episodes "Red Fired Up", "Roller Disco" and "Radio Daze".
Edna Hyde (played by Katey Sagal) is Steven Hyde's biological mother. She is only in the Season 1 episodes "Career Day", "Prom Night", and "Punk Chick", though she only appears in "Career Day". She plays a large part in "Career Day", playing opposite Hyde when on Career Day, he has to help her in the kitchen (she was the school chef, "Gross Edna" at the time). In other episodes she only has lines yelling at Hyde on the porch from the inside of the house such as:

In Prom Night Edna: "They're all gonna laugh at you!" (a reference to the 1976 film Carrie) Steven: "Shut up ma, you're makin' the night too damn special!"
In Punk Chick Steven: "It's still my suitcase!" Edna: "Nothing in this house is yours!" Steven: "Shut up!"

text:
Fenton, also known as Clerk in Season 5, (played by Jim Rash) is someone with whom Fez has a feud due to a "half-off sale, a crowded parking lot and a pair of pants that made Fez's ass look like an oil painting" in Fez's own words. In the fifth season, he was an employee at the jewelry store where Eric bought Donna's engagement ring. He is also the landlord of the apartment that Fez and Kelso moved into in the seventh season, which later became Fez and Jackie's apartment when Kelso moved to Chicago. At first, Fenton did not want to let Kelso and Fez move in because of his feud with Fez, but later when he found out Kelso wanted the apartment to have a place to take care of his daughter, and Fenton got the impression that Kelso and Fez were "life partners", he let them have it. Though Fenton does not state this explicitly, his frequent innuendos about men and his lack of experience with women imply he is gay. Whenever he sees Fez, he says "Oh, It's you" in an evil manner. Fenton later becomes good friends with Jackie, who persuades him not to evict Fez and end their feud when she accidentally floods their apartment.
Hilary Robinson (played by Lara Everly) is Fez's co-worker at the salon where Fez works in season 8. Fez tried to impress her by trying to look cool which intimidated her, but when Jackie explained to her who Fez really was, she fell in love with him. Fez and Hilary dated for a few weeks, before Hilary suddenly decided to become a nun and left Fez.
Jack Burkhart (played by Paul Kreppel) is the father of Jackie Burkhart. He was arrested for bribery and embezzling $60,000.
Joanne (played by Mo Gaffney) is a girlfriend of Bob Pinciotti, who appears in Seasons 4 and 5. She met Bob at the supermarket when Bob, being unable to cook, was about to buy a dozen TV dinners. Joanne decided to teach Bob to make a meatloaf so he would not have to buy the TV dinners. She does not get along well with Red. When Red and Joanne first met, they got into an argument about who would cook the meat and who would make the salad. Joanne works at the dog food factory and hires Eric to work there to put coupons in the dog food bags. Eric would eventually lose that job after Joanne broke up with Bob.
Mitch Miller (played by Seth Green) is a student in the same class as Eric. Mitch had a feud with Fez and because of this conflict, Mitch published a photo of Fez and Kelso kissing each other in the school newspaper. Mitch had a crush on Donna Pinciotti, and one time Donna went to a wedding with Mitch. Eric was angered when Mitch embarrassed Donna, and Eric and Mitch agreed to fight each other the next day at 5:15 PM. Not wanting to fight, Mitch persuaded Eric not to fight with him by offering him a French-made GI Joe called "GI Jacques". Mitch has a father, Charlie Miller, played by Fred Willard.
Nina Jo Bartell (played by Joanna Canton) is a girlfriend of Fez in season 5 who worked with him at the DMV. Fez lost his virginity to her, but it went badly, so she suggested they needed to do it more often to get better. They broke up a while later because Nina thought he was too needy.
Officer Phillip Otis Kennedy II (played by James Avery) is Kelso's training officer when he joins the police force. He appears mostly in the 6th season, playing a straight ace to the bumbling Kelso.
Pam Burkhart (played by Eve Plumb in Season 1 and Brooke Shields in Season 6) is the mother of Jackie Burkhart who was dating Bob Pinciotti in season 6. Once a serious business lady, she fled to Mexico when Jackie's councilman father was arrested for bribery and embezzling $60,000. She returned to try to fix her relationship between her and Jackie.
Pam Macy (played by Jennifer Lyons) is a classmate of the main characters of the show. She has been mentioned in more episodes than she appeared. She appeared in the episodes "Prom Night", "Romantic Weekend", and "It's a Wonderful life". In "Prom Night", Michael Kelso took Pam to the prom while temporarily broken up with Jackie. In "Romantic Weekend", Kelso was about to have sex with Pam but was unable to perform, telling his friends "The buffer wouldn't buff". Pam told this to the whole school, which caused everyone to tease Kelso about it.
Pastor Dave (played by Kevin McDonald), Pastor Dave is the local pastor at the church. He is overly cheerful and (incorrectly) thinks he is up to date with the trends, and is "hip and cool". He is often greeted by Eric and his friends with deadpan voices, and they typically just agree with Dave in the hopes he'll go away. Dave is good friends with Kitty, who helps with the church fundraisers, and has an uneasy friendship with Red (mostly because Red is not used to having friends). His friendship with Red seems to have brought out a less-pure side of Dave, as he spends a day with Red watching football and drinking beer, and once even quit the church because he wanted to watch more football on Sundays (he later rejoins as the pastor again). He appears primarily in Season 3 and 4, but has a few cameos in Season 2.
Rhonda (played by Cynthia Lamontagne) Often called Big Rhonda by her classmates, she was a recurring character during season 4. She was Fez's girlfriend during this season. When she and Fez were stuck in the school during a tornado, he was about to have sex with Big Rhonda, but after the tornado was gone, she did not want to anymore. She broke up with Fez after she choked him after he wanted to get to third base, which came from bad advice from Casey Kelso. Like Fez, she loves candy. The episode "It's a Wonderful Life" featured an alternate timeline, where Rhonda went to the prom with Eric (in this timeline, Eric and Donna were never in a relationship). Later in the same episode, she is seen at their 10-year reunion but now as a trim and beautiful woman (which Rhonda attributes to being dumped by a gigantic loser like Eric). It was also mentioned in the season three episode "Kitty's Birthday" that she was hit by a car but was apparently uninjured.
Roy Keen (played by Jim Gaffigan) is the kitchen manager of the Holliday Hotel who employed Eric, Hyde, and Kelso to work as waiters in the hotel's restaurant during seasons 5 and 6. The character serves as the replacement of Leo who was written out during season 5, although he had been absent for several episodes. It was mentioned by Hyde that Roy was like a father figure when his father abandoned him. Roy has stated that his standards for food service are low and he goes days without washing his hands. Roy served in the Vietnam War, once describing Eric as "scrawny, but strong... like the Vietcong". He suffers from serious trouble connecting to people. At one time he got the impression a woman was in love with him, after she insulted him when he got her some butter, and hid in her shower to surprise her with flowers. He once mentioned he was living with a woman, but moved out when she found out he was living with her in secret. It is revealed in the season 6 episode "A Legal Matter" that he was a police cadet who was oust of the police academy for shooting a police horse.
Samantha Hyde (played by Judy Tylor) is Hyde's wife during season 8. They got married while Hyde was drunk in Las Vegas. The two barely knew each other when they got married. Hyde did not even remember the wedding and did not know he was married until after Samantha came to Point Place to see Hyde. In the episode "My Fairy King", Hyde learned that Samantha was already married to someone else. After this, Hyde and Samantha's relationship ended.
Schatzie is a Dachshund that Red gave Kitty in an attempt to make her happy. Schatzie was in several episodes of season 5, was absent for all of season 6, then returned for only one episode towards the beginning of season 7. Red claimed that his absence was due to hiding under the house because he was afraid of the garden hose. "Schatzie" is German and means "little treasure" or "darling" (diminutive of "Schatz").
Timmy Thompson (played by Paul Connor) is a student who went to high school with Eric, Donna, Hyde, Fez, Kelso, and Jackie. To the annoyance of some of the gang, he announces comments to the room that start with "Heeey...", such as:

"Heeey, Forman and Donna got a motel room and they're going to do it!"
"Heeey, I'm taking off my pants!"
"Heeey, Forman's on a date with his mom!"
"Heeey, Donna's showed her ass!" (while showing everyone a yearbook photo where Donna mooned the camera).
He only has real dialogue in the episode "Burning Down The House".

William James "WB" Barnett (played by Tim Reid) is Steven Hyde's biological father. Hyde originally thought Bud Hyde was his biological father until the cliffhanger between the 6th and 7th seasons, where Kitty discovers that Steven's real father is a man who lives in Milwaukee. Sometimes people call William Barnett by his initials, WB. Barnett is wealthy and owns Grooves, a chain of record stores. Barnett put Steven in charge of the Point Place record store along with his daughter (and Hyde's half sister), Angie. Barnett is black, which Hyde believes explains his "coolness, afro and suspicion of the man" (it can also be noted that when Hyde asked him who killed Kennedy his father stated "I don't know, because they don't want me to know"). WB's last on-screen appearance is in the first half of the series finale which is the twenty-first episode of the eighth season, "Love of My Life" (WB had already appeared in the fourteenth episode of that season, "Son and Daughter").

text: Intended recurring roles[edit]

text: Several characters on the series were written as recurring, but made only one appearance. Among them:

text:
Tina Pinciotti (played by Amanda Fuller) was the younger sister of regular Donna Pinciotti. She first appeared in "Eric's Burger Job", but made no appearances following that, except for a brief mention in the episode "Vanstock". A similar situation occurred with unseen Valerie Pinciotti. The two are later written out with no explanation, as demonstrated in the season seven premiere, when Kitty refers to Donna as Bob and Midge's only daughter
Valerie Pinciotti was the older sister of Donna Pinciotti and Tina Pinciotti, who in "Eric's Birthday" was said to be away at college but never mentioned again.
Matthew and Rebecca Erdman (played by Kevin Farley and Shannon Holt) were the prudish host parents of Fez. They first appeared in "Drive-In" and convince Fez the rock they detest is diabolical by playing KISS album backwards. Fez's host parents make no further appearances in the show.
Buddy Morgan (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was introduced in "Eric's Buddy", and was intended to become a recurring character. However, the introduction of homosexual Buddy as a love interest for Eric (at a time when both Eric and Hyde were competing for Donna) did not go over well with audiences, and Buddy was cut from the show.
Melissa (played by Reagan Gomez-Preston) appeared in "Hyde Gets the Girl" as a potential love interest for Hyde. She was intended to become his on-off girlfriend.
Patty (played by Lindsay Sloane) appeared in two episodes in the series' second season. She is introduced in "Eric Gets Suspended" along with her best friend, Mary (played by Melissa Joan Hart). The two go on a double blind date with Hyde and Fez. Hyde initially pairs with Mary, and Fez with Patty; but in the course of the date Hyde tells Fez to swap dates because he is hitting it off with Patty. Patty then returned in "Eric and Kitty's Night Out". In the episode, Fez and Patty become boyfriend and girlfriend. Patty's role and impact in the episode implies an intention to continue the character's appearance in the series. However, with no explanation in the show Patty is not seen or mentioned again.


document_title: ZIP Code

question_text: what are the last four digits in a zip code

question_tokens: what are the last four digits in a zip code

root

text: ZIP Code

text: History[edit]

text: Early history and five-digit ZIP Codes[edit]

text: The early history and context of postal codes began with postal district/zone numbers. The United States Post Office Department (USPOD) implemented postal zones for numerous large cities in 1943.[3] For example:

tag: p

text: Mr. John Smith

text: 3256 Epiphenomenal Avenue

text: Minneapolis 16, Minnesota

text: The "16" was the number of the postal zone from the specific city.

text: By the early 1960s, a more organized system was needed, and non-mandatory five-digit ZIP Codes were introduced nationwide on July 1, 1963. The USPOD issued its Publication 59: Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code on October 1, 1963, with the list of two-letter state abbreviations which are generally written with both letters capitalized.[4] An earlier list in June had proposed capitalized abbreviations ranging from two to five letters.[4] According to Publication 59, the two-letter standard was "based on a maximum 23-position line, because this has been found to be the most universally acceptable line capacity basis for major addressing systems",[4] which would be exceeded by a long city name combined with a multi-letter state abbreviation, such as "Sacramento, Calif." along with the ZIP Code. The abbreviations have remained unchanged, with the exception of Nebraska, which was changed from NB to NE in 1969 at the request of the Canadian postal administration, to avoid confusion with the Canadian province of New Brunswick.[4]

text: Robert Moon is considered the father of the ZIP Code; he submitted his proposal in 1944 while working as a postal inspector.[5] The post office only credits Moon with the first three digits of the ZIP Code, which describe the sectional center facility (SCF) or "sec center." An SCF is a central mail processing facility with those three digits. The fourth and fifth digits were proposed by Henry Bentley Hahn Sr which give a more precise locale within the SCF[6]. The SCF sorts mail to all post offices with those first three digits in their ZIP Codes. The mail is sorted according to the final two digits of the ZIP Code and sent to the corresponding post offices in the early morning. Sectional centers do not deliver mail and are not open to the public (though the building may include a post office open to the public), and most of their employees work night shift. Mail picked up at post offices is sent to their own SCF in the afternoon, where the mail is sorted overnight. In the cases of large cities, the last two digits coincide with the older postal zone number[citation needed] thus:

text:
Mr. John Smith
3256 Epiphenomenal Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55416

text: In 1967, these became mandatory for second and third-class bulk mailers, and the system was soon adopted generally. The United States Post Office used a cartoon character which it called Mr. ZIP to promote the use of the ZIP Code. He was often depicted with a legend such as "USE ZIP CODE" in the selvage of panes of postage stamps or on the covers of booklet panes of stamps.

text: In 1971 Elmira (NY) Star-Gazette reporter Dick Baumbach found out the White House was not using a ZIP Code on its envelopes.  Herb Klein, special assistant to President Nixon, responded by saying the next printing of envelopes would include the ZIP Code.  That did occur.[7]

text: In 1983, the U.S. Postal Service introduced an expanded ZIP Code system that it called ZIP+4, often called "plus-four codes", "add-on codes", or "add-ons". A ZIP+4 Code uses the basic five-digit code plus four additional digits to identify a geographic segment within the five-digit delivery area, such as a city block, a group of apartments, an individual high-volume receiver of mail, a post office box, or any other unit that could use an extra identifier to aid in efficient mail sorting and delivery. However, initial attempts to promote universal use of the new format met with public resistance and today the plus-four code is not required.[8] In general, mail is read by a multiline optical character reader (MLOCR) that almost instantly determines the correct ZIP+4 Code from the address—along with the even more specific delivery point—and sprays an Intelligent Mail barcode (IM) on the face of the mail piece that corresponds to 11 digits—nine for the ZIP+4 Code and two for the delivery point.

text: For Post Office Boxes, the general (but not invariable) rule is that each box has its own ZIP+4 code. The add-on code is often one of the following: the last four digits of the box number (e.g. PO Box 107050, Albany, NY 12201-7050), zero plus the last three digits of the box number (e.g., PO Box 17727, Eagle River, AK 99577-0727), or, if the box number consists of fewer than four digits, enough zeros are attached to the front of the box number to produce a four-digit number (e.g., PO Box 77, Juneau, AK 99750-0077). However, there is no uniform rule, so the ZIP+4 Code must be looked up individually for each box.[citation needed]

text: Postal bar code[edit]

text: The ZIP Code is often translated into an Intelligent Mail barcode that is printed on the mailpiece to make it easier for automated machines to sort. A barcode can be printed by the sender (some word-processing programs such as WordPerfect[9] and Microsoft Word[10] include the feature—but is not recommended as the address to ZIP lookup tables can be significantly out of date). It is better to let the post office put one on when it processes the piece. In general, the post office uses OCR technology, though in some cases a human might have to read and enter the address.

text: Customers who send bulk mail can get a discount on postage if they have printed the barcode themselves and have presorted the mail. This requires more than just a simple font; mailing lists must be standardized with up-to-date Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS)-certified software that adds and verifies a full, correct ZIP+4 Code and an additional two digits representing the exact delivery point.[citation needed] Furthermore, mail must be sorted in a specific manner to an 11 digit code with at least 150 mailpieces for each qualifying ZIP code and must be accompanied by documentation confirming this. These steps are usually done with PAVE-certified software that also prints the barcoded address labels and the barcoded sack or tray tags.

text: This means that every single mailable point in the country has its own 12-digit number (at least in theory). The delivery-point digits (the 10th and 11th digits) are calculated based on the primary or secondary number of the address. The USPS publishes the rules for calculating the delivery point in a document called the CASS Technical Guide.[11] However, when confronted with two addresses like 18 and 18C, often CASS will assign the same 12-digit number to two distinct mail delivery points. The last digit is always a check digit, which is obtained by summing all 5, 9 or 11 digits, taking the residue modulo 10 of this sum (i.e., the remainder after dividing by 10) and finally subtracting this from 10. (Thus, the check digit for 10001-0001 00 would be 7, since 1+1+1=3, 3≡3(mod 10) and 10–3=7.)

text: Structure and allocation[edit]

text: Scope and international mail[edit]

text: ZIP Codes designate delivery points within the United States (including territories), and overseas stations of its armed forces. There are also ZIP Codes for the independent countries the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, each of which is integrated into the U.S. postal system under a Compact of Free Association.

text: Mail to U.S. diplomatic missions overseas is addressed as if it were addressed to a street address in Washington, D.C. The four-digit diplomatic pouch number is used as a building number, while the city in which the embassy or consulate is located is combined with the word "Place" to form a street name. Each mission uses a ZIP+4 Code consisting of 20521 and the diplomatic pouch number. For example, the mailing address of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India would be:

text: Embassy of the United States of America

text: 9000 New Delhi Place

text: Washington, DC 20521-9000[12]

text: By type and use[edit]

text: There are four types of ZIP Codes:

text:
Unique: assigned to a single high-volume address
Post Office Box only: used only for PO Boxes at a given facility, not for any other type of delivery
Military: used to route mail for the U.S. military
Standard: all other ZIP Codes.

tag: ul

text: Unique ZIP Codes are used for governmental agencies, universities, businesses, or buildings that receive such extremely high volumes of mail that they need their own ZIP Codes. Government examples include 20505 for the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C.; 81009 for the Federal Citizen Information Center of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)[13] in Pueblo, Colorado. Examples of private address unique ZIP Codes include the headquarters of Wal-Mart (72716).

text: An example of a PO Box only ZIP Code is 22313, which is used for PO Boxes at the main post office in Alexandria, Virginia, such as those used by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In the area surrounding that post office, home and business mail delivery addresses use ZIP Code 22314, which is thus a Standard ZIP Code.

text: In certain exceptional cases, a nominally Standard-type ZIP Code may, in practice, be used as one of the three other types.  For example, the ZIP Code 43210 in Columbus, Ohio is listed as a Standard-type ZIP Code.  However, since its geographic boundaries are essentially coterminous with those of The Ohio State University's main campus, it is effectively exclusive to the university even though it is not officially a "Unique"-type ZIP code.

text: By geography[edit]

text: Primary state prefixes[edit]

text: ZIP Codes are numbered with the first digit representing a certain group of U.S. states, the second and third digits together representing a region in that group (or perhaps a large city) and the fourth and fifth digits representing a group of delivery addresses within that region. The main town in a region (if applicable) often gets the first ZIP Codes for that region; afterward, the numerical order often follows the alphabetical order.[citation needed] Because ZIP Codes are intended for efficient postal delivery, there are unusual cases where a ZIP Code crosses state boundaries, such as a military facility spanning multiple states or remote areas of one state most easily serviced from a bordering state. For example, ZIP Code 42223 serves Fort Campbell, which spans Christian County, Kentucky, and Montgomery County, Tennessee, and ZIP Code 97635 includes portions of Lake County, Oregon, and Modoc County, California.

text: In general, the first three digits designate a sectional center facility, the mail sorting and distribution center for an area. A sectional center facility may have more than one three-digit code assigned to it. For example, the Northern Virginia sectional center facility in Merrifield is assigned codes 220, 221, 222 and 223. In some cases, a sectional center facility may serve an area in an adjacent state, usually due to the lack of a proper location for a center in that region. For example, 739 in Oklahoma is assigned to Liberal, Kansas; 865 in Arizona is assigned to Gallup, New Mexico; and 961 in California to Reno, Nevada.

text: In terms of geographic location, many of the lowest ZIP Codes, which begin with '0', are in the New England region. Also in the '0' region are New Jersey (non-contiguous with the remainder of the '0' area), Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and APO/FPO military addresses for personnel stationed in Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia and aboard vessels based in the waters adjoining those lands. The lowest ZIP Code is in Holtsville, New York (00501, a ZIP Code exclusively for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service center there).[14] Other low ZIP Codes are 00601 for Adjuntas, Puerto Rico; 01001 for Agawam, Massachusetts, and the zip codes 01002 and 01003 for Amherst, Massachusetts; 01002 is used for mail in town, while 01003 is reserved for the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Until 2001, there were six ZIP Codes lower than 00501 that were numbered from 00210 to 00215 (located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire) and were used by the Diversity Immigrant Visa program to receive applications from non-U.S. citizens.[citation needed]

text: The numbers increase southward along the East Coast, such as 02115 (Boston), 10001 (New York City), 19103 (Philadelphia), 21201 (Baltimore), 20008 (Washington, D.C.), 30303 (Atlanta) and 33130 (Miami) (these are only examples, as each of these cities contain several ZIP Codes in the same range). From there, the numbers increase heading westward and northward east of the Mississippi River, southward west of the Mississippi River, and northward on the West Coast. For example, 40202 is in Louisville, 50309 in Des Moines, 60601 in Chicago, 63101 in St. Louis, 77063 in Houston, 80202 in Denver, 94111 in San Francisco, 98101 in Seattle, and 99950 in Ketchikan, Alaska (the highest ZIP Code).

text: The first digit of the ZIP Code is allocated as follows:

text:
0 = Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA), Maine (ME), New Hampshire (NH), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY, Fishers Island only), Puerto Rico (PR), Rhode Island (RI), Vermont (VT), Virgin Islands (VI), Army Post Office Europe (AE), Fleet Post Office Europe (AE)
1 = Delaware (DE), New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA)
2 = District of Columbia (DC), Maryland (MD), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Virginia (VA), West Virginia (WV)
3 = Alabama (AL), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Mississippi (MS), Tennessee (TN), Army Post Office Americas (AA), Fleet Post Office Americas (AA)
4 = Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY), Michigan (MI), Ohio (OH)
5 = Iowa (IA), Minnesota (MN), Montana (MT), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), Wisconsin (WI)
 6 = Illinois (IL), Kansas (KS), Missouri (MO), Nebraska (NE)
7 = Arkansas (AR), Louisiana (LA), Oklahoma (OK), Texas (TX)
8 = Arizona (AZ), Colorado (CO), Idaho (ID), New Mexico (NM), Nevada (NV), Utah (UT), Wyoming (WY)
 9 = Alaska (AK), American Samoa (AS), California (CA), Guam (GU), Hawaii (HI), Marshall Islands (MH), Federated States of Micronesia (FM), Northern Mariana Islands (MP), Oregon (OR), Palau (PW), Washington (WA), Army Post Office Pacific (AP), Fleet Post Office Pacific (AP)

text: Secondary regional prefixes (123xx) and local ZIP Codes (12345)[edit]

text: The next two digits represent the sectional center facility (SCF) (e.g. 477xx = Vanderburgh County, Indiana), and the fourth and fifth digits represent the area of the city (if in a metropolitan area), or a village/town (outside metro areas): 47722 (4=Indiana, 77=Vanderburgh County, 22=University of Evansville area). When a sectional center facility's area crosses state lines, that facility is assigned separate three-digit prefixes for the states that it serves.

text: In some urban areas, like 462 for Marion County, Indiana, the three-digit prefix will often exist in one county, while, in rural and most suburban areas, the prefix will exist in multiple counties; for example, the neighboring 476 prefix is found in part or entirely in six counties: Gibson, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick. In some cases, an urban county may have more than one prefix. This is the case with Allen (467, 468), Lake (464, 463), St. Joseph (465, 466), and Vanderburgh (476, 477) Counties. Cities like Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City have multiple prefixes within their city limits. In some cases, these may be served from the same SCF, such as in San Diego County, California, where the three-digit prefixes 919 and 920 are used for suburban and rural communities, and 921 for the city of San Diego itself, although all three are processed through the same SCF facility.[citation needed]

text: Despite the geographic derivation of most ZIP Codes, the codes themselves do not represent geographic regions; in general, they correspond to address groups or delivery routes. As a consequence, ZIP Code "areas" can overlap, be subsets of each other, or be artificial constructs with no geographic area (such as 095 for mail to the Navy, which is not geographically fixed). In similar fashion, in areas without regular postal routes (rural route areas) or no mail delivery (undeveloped areas), ZIP Codes are not assigned or are based on sparse delivery routes, and hence the boundary between ZIP Code areas is undefined. For example, some residents in or near Haubstadt, Indiana, which has the ZIP Code 47639, have mailing addresses with 47648, the ZIP Code for neighboring Fort Branch, Indiana, while others living in or near Fort Branch have addresses with 47639. Many rural counties have similar logistical inconsistencies caused by the aforementioned sparse delivery routes, often known as Rural Routes or by some other similar designation.

text: Almost all U.S. government agencies in and around the capital are assigned ZIP Codes starting with 20200 to 20599, which are Washington, D.C. ZIP Codes, even if they are not located in Washington itself. While the White House itself is located in ZIP Code 20006, it has the ZIP Code 20500. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is located in Rockville, Maryland, at ZIP Code 20852, but has been assigned by the Postal Service the address "Washington, DC 20555".

text: In similar manner, the ZIP Code for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, a federally chartered independent authority, is 20001-6000[15], even though the physical address of the Authority's office, "1 Aviation Circle",[16] is in Arlington, Virginia.[citation needed]

text: One current exception to this rule is the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). When the USPTO was located in the Crystal City neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia, it was assigned by the Postal Service the address "Washington, DC 20231" despite being physically located in ZIP Code 22202. However, the USPTO now uses a ZIP Code (22313-1450 in ZIP+4) assigned to its current PO box in Alexandria, Virginia.[17]

text: In rare circumstances, a locality is assigned a ZIP Code that does not match the rest of the state. In even rarer cases a ZIP Code may cross state lines. Usually, this occurs when the locality is so isolated that it is most conveniently served from a sectional center in another state. Examples:

text:
Fishers Island, New York, bears the ZIP Code 06390 and is served from Connecticut because the only ferry service is to Connecticut – all other New York ZIP Codes (excepting those at Holtsville for the IRS) begin with "1".
Returned government parcels from Washington, D.C. are sent to ZIP Codes beginning with "569" so that returned parcels are security checked at a remote facility (this was put into place after the 2001 anthrax attacks).
Some Arkansas roads north of Bull Shoals Lake can best be accessed by the Protem, Missouri delivery unit (ZIP Code 65733), as they are accessible by road only through Missouri.
Fort Campbell (ZIP Code 42223), primarily in Tennessee, but the main entrance is in Kentucky.

text: ZIP Codes and previous zoning lines[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: A ZIP Code's address and the city name written on the same line do not necessarily mean that address is within the boundaries of that city. The Postal Service designates one preferred place name for each ZIP Code. This may be an incorporated town or city, a subentity of a large city or an unincorporated census-designated place, or a small unincorporated community. Additional place names may be recognized as acceptable for a certain ZIP Code. Still, others are deemed not acceptable, and if used may result in a delay in mail delivery.

text: Preferred place names are generally the city or town in which the address is located. However, for many cities that have incorporated since ZIP Codes were introduced, the city name is not the preferred place name. Many databases automatically assign the preferred place name for a ZIP Code, without regard to any acceptable place names. For example, Centennial, Colorado is divided among seven ZIP Codes assigned to Aurora, Englewood, or Littleton as its preferred place names; none of these seven ZIP Codes carries "Centennial" as a preferred name, and in the ZIP Code directory, Centennial addresses are listed under those three cities. Since it is acceptable to write "Centennial" in conjunction with any of the seven ZIP Codes, one can write "Centennial" in an address in Aurora, Englewood, or Littleton, as long as it is in one of the shared ZIP Codes.

text: Acceptable place names are usually added to a ZIP Code in cases where the ZIP Code boundaries divide them between two or more cities, as in the case of Centennial. However, in many cases, only the preferred name can be used, even when many addresses in the ZIP Code are in another city. People sometimes must use the name of a post office rather than their own city.

text: One extreme example is ZIP Code 85254; it was assigned the place name Scottsdale, Arizona because it is served by the Scottsdale post office, but 85% of its territory is inside the city limits of neighboring Phoenix. Another notorious example is an entire neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles known as Beverly Hills Post Office. Naturally, its residents prefer the more glamorous Beverly Hills address and 90210 ZIP Code, but this regularly causes problems with an emergency response when dispatchers have to sort out whether a given home in 90210 is in Los Angeles or Beverly Hills.

text: Similarly, Missouri City, Texas, straddles Harris and Fort Bend counties. The portion within Harris County is within the ZIP Code 77071, which must use the city name of Houston instead of Missouri City. At the same time, a small portion of the city of Houston is in Fort Bend County in the ZIP Code 77489, and residents there must use the name Missouri City for their address even though they are in Houston.

text: This also occurs in some rural areas where portions of one town have their mail delivered to other post offices. For example, while most of the town of Plainfield, Massachusetts is in ZIP Code 01070, some sections of town are in the ZIP Code area for the neighboring town of Cummington with ZIP Code 01026. Only the preferred name of Cummington is allowed in ZIP Code 01026, so residents of parts of Plainfield must list their address as being in Cummington.

text: This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The previously mentioned Englewood, Colorado is an inner-ring suburb that was built out by the 1960s. Its post office served the area that is now the high-growth southern tier of the Denver metropolitan area, and ZIP Codes in this area were assigned Englewood as their preferred place name. A business community as large as downtown Denver has grown in this area, with headquarters for many internationally recognized corporations. These companies indicate Englewood as their location (the preferred postal place name), although they are located in other cities. As a result, there are really two Englewoods – the city, small and with a largely working-class residential population, and, a number of miles away, the postal Englewood, a vast suburban area of upscale subdivisions and office parks that have nothing to do with the city of Englewood yet share a split identity with it solely because of ZIP Codes. People who say they live or work in Englewood and identify closely with it may rarely enter the city. In Indiana, the ZIP Code for a town usually indicates the ZIP Code for its corresponding township, as nearly all of Indiana's small town post offices have rural routes.[citation needed]

text: Acceptable place names also come into play in areas where citizens identify more strongly with a particular urban center than their own municipality. For example, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has 130 distinct municipalities, yet many of the county's residents, and even some residents of adjacent counties, commonly use Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as their postal address. On the opposite end of the spectrum, in some urban areas, neighborhood names may be acceptable even though they have no legal standing, such as La Jolla, California, which is the preferred place name for ZIP Code 92037, despite the fact that La Jolla is a district of San Diego, California and not a separate legal entity (this ZIP Code is also in the 919/920 sequence used by San Diego County's suburban and rural areas, not in the 921 sequence used in the remainder of the City of San Diego, even though La Jolla has always been part of San Diego).

text: Many ZIP Codes are for villages, census-designated places, portions of cities, or other entities that are not municipalities. For example, ZIP Code 03750 is for Etna, New Hampshire, but Etna is not a city or town; it is a village district in the town of Hanover, which itself is assigned the ZIP Code 03755. Another example is ZIP Code 08043, which corresponds to the census-designated place of Kirkwood, New Jersey, but serves the entirety of Voorhees Township. This is also the case in LaGrange, New York, a portion of which is served by the 12603 ZIP Code based in the neighboring town of Poughkeepsie. The rest of LaGrange is served by the LaGrangeville Post Office. LaGrangeville is itself not a town at all, but a section of LaGrange. Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, served by the 19090 ZIP Code, is a village that straddles the border of Upper Moreland Township and Abington Township, and that post office also serves a small portion of Upper Dublin Township. Furthermore, non-municipal place names may also share ZIP Codes with municipal place names. For example, West Windsor Township, New Jersey, is commonly referred to in most mailing databases as Princeton Junction, a census-designated place within West Windsor. Silver Spring, Maryland, (20815, 20901–20912) is neither a city nor a town, but simply the common name for an unincorporated area consisting of a large part of the lower southern portion of Montgomery County.

text: Postal designations for place names become de facto locations for their addresses, and as a result, it is difficult to convince residents and businesses that they are located in another city or town different from the preferred place name associated with their ZIP Codes. Because of issues of confusion and lack of identity, some cities, such as Signal Hill, California, (an enclave located entirely inside the separate city of Long Beach) have successfully petitioned the Postal Service to change ZIP Code boundaries or create new ZIP Codes so their cities become the preferred place name for addresses within the ZIP Code.

text: Postal designation confusion may have financial implications for local governments because mail volume is one factor used by the U.S. Census Bureau to estimate population changes between decennial census enumerations.[citation needed] Sometimes local officials in a community that is not the preferred place name for a ZIP Code but is an acceptable place name will advise residents to always use the name of the community, because if the census estimate of that town's population is low they may receive fewer funds that are computed based on population. A typical example is Paddock Lake, Wisconsin, whose preferred place name is Salem. Paddock Lake is incorporated as a village within the town of Salem, even though there are more people in the village of Paddock Lake than there are in the unincorporated parts of the town of Salem. Further confusion is caused because Silver Lake, Wisconsin, which is also a village in the town of Salem and is of similar size and status to Paddock Lake, has its own ZIP Code and post office.

text: In another case, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) denied a radio station (now WNNX FM) a move requiring a change in its city of license to Sandy Springs, Georgia, largely because it was not a city (until municipal incorporation in late 2005), despite being the seventh-largest place in the state by population. The FCC cited the use of "Atlanta" on letters of support from local organizations, even though the USPS forced them to use Atlanta for 30328 until well after incorporation took effect. Currently "Sandy Springs" is only acceptable, despite none of 30328 being in Atlanta, or anywhere else outside the Sandy Springs city limit. This even applies to the ZIP Code used only for PO boxes at the Sandy Springs main post office.

text: Because ZIP Codes and their associated place names can ignore county lines, problems may occur where street addresses are based on quadrant location within a county. For example, 30339 spans over Vinings, Georgia and Atlanta, Georgia, in southeastern Cobb County; therefore every street address is labeled SE, and has a house number on that county's grid (according to the distance from the town square in the county seat). However, because the USPS demands the use of Atlanta, Vining's addresses are written such that they appear to be in southeast Atlanta, instead of in the opposite (northwest metro Atlanta) side.

text: Division and reallocation of ZIP codes[edit]

text: Like area codes, ZIP codes are sometimes divided and changed, especially when a rural area becomes suburban. Typically, the new codes become effective once announced, and a grace period (e.g., one year) is provided in which the new and old codes are used concurrently so that postal patrons in the affected area can notify correspondents, order new stationery, etc.[18]

text: In rapidly growing communities, it is sometimes necessary to open a new sectional center facility, which must then be allocated its own three-digit ZIP-code prefix or prefixes. Such allocation can be done in various ways. For example, when a new sectional center facility was opened at Dulles Airport in Virginia, the prefix 201 was allocated to that facility; therefore, for all post offices to be served by that sectional center facility the ZIP Code changed from an old code beginning with 220 or 221 to a new code or codes beginning with 201. However, when a new sectional center facility was opened to serve Montgomery County, Maryland, no new prefix was assigned. Instead, ZIP Codes in the 207 and 208 ranges, which had previously been assigned alphabetically, were reshuffled so that 207xx ZIP Codes in the county was changed to 208xx codes, while 208xx codes outside that county were changed to 207xx codes. Because Silver Spring (whose postal area includes Wheaton) has its own prefix, 209, there was no need to apply the reshuffling to Silver Spring; instead, all mail going to 209xx ZIP Codes was simply rerouted to the new sectional center facility.

text: On the other hand, depopulation may cause a post office to close and its associated ZIP Code to be deallocated. For example, Centralia, Pennsylvania's ZIP Code, 17927, was retired in 2002,[19] and ZIP Codes for Onoville (14764), Quaker Bridge (14771) and Red House (14773) were prevented from going into use in 1964 in preparation for the Kinzua Dam's completion.[20][21]

text: Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, was originally issued the 19117 ZIP Code, although it lies in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Because of the 191 prefix, which is found only in Philadelphia with that lone exception, auto insurance companies charged higher city premiums to that suburban location. For that reason, residents petitioned the USPS for a 190-prefix ZIP Code, which is common to the inner-ring Pennsylvania suburbs of that city, and, after several attempts that were initially disapproved by the USPS, Elkins Park was finally reassigned to the 19027 ZIP Code.[citation needed]

text: ZIP Codes also change when postal boundaries are realigned. For example, at the same time at which the above-noted change in Montgomery County, Maryland, took place, and under pressure from then-mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry, the USPS realigned the postal boundaries between Washington, D.C. and Maryland to match the boundary. Previously, many inner suburbs, such as Bethesda and Takoma Park, Oxon Hill, Temple Hills, Suitland, and Capitol Heights had been in the Washington, D.C., postal area. As a result of the change, ZIP Codes in Maryland beginning with 200 were changed to new ZIP Codes beginning with 207, 208 or 209, depending on their location, and ZIP Codes straddling the D.C.-Maryland line were split. For example, 20016 (Bethesda) became 20816, while the Maryland portion of 20012 (Takoma Park) became 20912.

text: Other uses[edit]

text: Delivery services[edit]

text: Delivery services other than the USPS, such as FedEx, United Parcel Service, and DHL, require a ZIP Code for optimal internal routing of a package.

text: Statistics[edit]

text: As of  2015[update], there were over 42,000 ZIP Codes in the United States.[22] ZIP Codes are used not only for tracking of mail but also in gathering geographical statistics in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau calculates approximate boundaries of ZIP Codes areas, which it calls ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs). Statistical census data is then provided for these approximate areas. The geographic data provided for these areas includes the latitude and longitude of the center-point of the ZCTAs. There are approximately 32,000 ZCTAs. The reason that there is not one ZCTA for every ZIP Code is that PO Boxes are excluded, since only populated areas are included in the Census data.[23] The Census Bureau provides many statistical data sets for ZIP Codes, but does not keep up-to-date datasets of all ZCTAs. Complete datasets providing a similar approximate geographic extent are commercially available.

text: ZIP Codes are inherently discrete data, or point-based data, as they are assigned only at the point of delivery, not the spaces in between the delivery points. The U.S. Census Bureau then interpolates this discrete data set to create polygons, or areal features representing the approximate extent of the ZIP Code to use for mapping and data presentation. ZCTAs are not to be confused with ZIP Codes, and they are not updated as frequently as ZIP Codes. However, for many research and planning purposes, they are very useful and can be used with ZIP Code data.

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The data is often used in direct mail marketing campaigns in a process called ZIP-code marketing. Point-of-sale cashiers sometimes ask consumers their home ZIP Code. Besides providing purchasing-pattern data useful in determining the location of new business establishments, retailers can use directories to correlate this ZIP Code with the name on a credit card to obtain a consumer's full address and telephone number. ZIP-Coded data are also used in analyzing geographic factors in risk, an insurance-industry and banking practice pejoratively known as redlining. This can cause problems (e.g., expensive insurance) for people living near a town with a high crime rate and sharing its ZIP Code, while they live in a relatively crime-free town (see Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, above).

text: According to a news story, "California's high court ruled Thursday that retailers do not have the right to ask customers for their ZIP Code while completing credit card transactions, saying that doing so violates a cardholders' right to protect his or her personal information."[24]

text: Legislative districts[edit]

text: ZIP Codes cannot be used to identify legislative districts. Although the website of the U.S. House of Representatives has a "Find Your Representative" feature that looks up congressional districts based on ZIP Codes alone, it often returns multiple districts corresponding to a single ZIP Code.[25][26] This is because different parts of one ZIP Code can be in different districts.[27]

text: Internet[edit]

text: A 1978 proposal for a nationwide system of community networks suggested using ZIP Codes for routing.[28]

text: ZIP Code data is an integral part of dealer / store locator software on many websites, especially brick-and-click websites. This software processes a user-input ZIP Code and returns a list of store or business locations, usually in the order of increasing distance from the center of the input ZIP Code. As the ZIP system is confined to the U.S. Postal network, websites that require ZIP Codes cannot register customers outside the U.S. Many sites will either purchase postal code data of other countries or make allowances in cases where the ZIP Code is not recognized.

text: ZIP Codes are regularly used on the Internet to provide a location in situations where an exact address is not necessary (or desirable) but the user's municipality, or at least general location, is needed. Examples (in addition to the store locator example listed above) include weather forecasts, television listings, local news, and online dating (most general purpose sites, by default, search within a given number of miles of a given ZIP Code, based on the others' entered ZIP Codes).

text: Credit card security[edit]

text: ZIP Codes are used in credit card authorization, specifically Address Verification System (AVS). When a merchant collects the entire address, the ZIP Code is an important part of AVS. In some cases, the ZIP Code is the only thing used for AVS, specifically where collecting a signature, or other information is infeasible, such as pay at the pump or vending machines.

text: Insurance rating[edit]

text: ZIP Codes are used by most insurance carriers to determine the rate the customer will receive. Higher populated areas will generally receive a higher rate, but that is not always true. In some areas with a high population, the rate for comprehensive coverage can be lower because the area has a low crime rate.[citation needed]


document_title: Indian honours system

question_text: which is the highest peacetime gallantry award of india

text: Indian honours system

text: Civilian Awards[edit]

text: Bharat Ratna[edit]

text:
The Bharat Ratna,[1] the highest civilian award of the country, was instituted in the year 1954. Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or gender is eligible for this award. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion.
It is not mandatory that this award should be given every year.

text: Padma awards[edit]

text: Padma Awards[2] were instituted in the year 1954. Except for brief interruptions during the years 1977 to 1980 and 1993 to 1997, these awards have been announced every year on Republic Day. The award is given in three categories, viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, in the decreasing order of importance.

text:
Padma Vibhushan  for "exceptional and distinguished service". Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian award in India.
Padma Bhushan for "distinguished service of a high order". Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in India .
Padma Shri is awarded for "distinguished service". Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award in India.

text: While national honours, the Padma awards do not include cash allowances, benefits, or special concessions in rail/air travel.[3] Per a December 1995 judgment of the Supreme Court of India, no titles or honorifics are associated with the Bharat Ratna or any of the Padma awards; honorees cannot use them or their initials as suffixes, prefixes or pre- and post-nominals attached to the awardee’s name. This includes any such use on letterheads, invitation cards, posters, books etc. In the case of any misuse, the awardee will forfeit the award, and he or she is cautioned against any such misuse upon receiving the honour.[4]

text:
The decoration comprises a sanad (Certificate) issued under the hand and seal of the President and a Medallion.
The recipients are also given a replica of the medallion, which they can wear during any ceremonial/State functions etc., if they desire.
A commemorative brochure giving out brief details in respect of each award winner is also released on the day of the investiture ceremony.

text: Selection process[edit]

text: These awards seek to recognize work of any distinction and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields of activities/disciplines, such as art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, trade and industry, etc. All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards.

text: In 2018, the BJP government decided to end the practice of ministers recommending names for Padma awards and replaced it with any Indian citizen recommending a person for Padma awards online. The government said that this was done with the belief that every citizen has something to contribute to the nation and that contribution should be integrated with the country's growth. Accordingly, several hitherto unknown citizens were awarded Padma awards in 2017. The role of the state governments was also minimised.[5][6][7]

text: Annulment of awards[edit]

text: While there are no specific criteria for withdrawing a Padma award, the President of India, per the awards' statutes, may cancel and annul any award in the case of any misconduct committed by the recipient. At least three awards of the Padma Shri have been so annulled, twice in 1958 for recipients residing in the state of Punjab and once in 1974 for a recipient residing in the state of Gujarat.[8]

text: Military Awards[edit]

text: Wartime gallantry awards[edit]

text:
Param Vir Chakra — Highest military award for, equivalent to the Victoria Cross (which was replaced once India gained its independence).
Maha Vir Chakra – Maha Vir Chakra is the second highest military decoration in India and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.
Vir Chakra – Third in precedence in the awards for wartime gallantry

text: Peacetime gallantry awards[edit]

text:
Ashok Chakra Award – An Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra.
Kirti Chakra – Second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards.
Shaurya Chakra – Third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards.

text: Wartime/Peacetime service  awards[edit]

text: Sena Medal / Nau Sena Medal / Vayusena Medal

text: Wartime Distinguished Service[edit]

text:
Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal
Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
Yudh Seva Medal

text: Peacetime Distinguished Service[edit]

text:
Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal

text: National awards[edit]

text: Women[edit]

text: Nari Shakti Puraskar

text: Children[edit]

text:
National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement
National Bal Shree Honour

text: Literature awards[edit]

text:
Jnanpith Award is the highest literary honour Award in Literature of India
Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Fellowship
Saraswati samman
Bhasha Samman
Translation Awards
Anand Coomarswamy Fellowships
Premchand Fellowship

text: Particular  awards[edit]

text: National sports awards[edit]

text:
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Dronacharya award
Arjuna award
Dhyan Chand Award
C.K. Nayudu Award
Ranjit Award

text: Police awards[edit]

text:
President's Police Medal for Gallantry
President's Fire Services Medal for Gallantry
President's Correctional Service Medal for Gallantry
President's Home Guards and Civil Defence Medal for Gallantry
Police Medal for Gallantry
Fire Services Medal for Gallantry
Correctional Service Medal for Gallantry
Home Guards and Civil Defence Medal for Gallantry
President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service
President's Fire Services Medal for Distinguished Service
President's Correctional Service Medal for Distinguished Service
President's Home Guards and Civil Defence for Distinguished Service
Police Medal for Meritorious Service
Fire Services Medal for Meritorious Service
Correction Service Medal for Meritorious Service
Home Guards and Civil Defence Medal for Meritorious Service
President Tat Rakshak Medal

text: Bravery awards[edit]

text:
National Bravery Award
Bharat Award
Sanjay Chopra Award
Geeta Chopra Award
Kritin Bhardwaj
Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards
Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak
Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak
Jeevan Raksha Padak