I was fascinated by this novelty toy when I noticed it on Ebay, the sort of thing my Mum would have put in my Xmas stocking in the Sixties. Its the L'il Rocketeer by Playwell. The card proclaims that it 'builds over 1000 different toys!'. That's a big claim. I wonder if anyone has ever got close to a thousand? And the US listing says that its 'pre Zip code'. When did Zip codes come in in the US?
According to Wikipedia, five-digit ZIP codes (Zone Improvement Plan) were introduced way back in 1963, with more precise nine-digit codes following in 1983. However, I do not know how long it took for them to come into general use, so the absence of a ZIP code on packaging could not be used to exactly date an item. However the use of a 5-digit code would mean 1963 or later; while a 9-digit code would at least be 1983 or later.
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