An observation or two.

[MacCathail]

...and hey Americans, nobody outside the Excited States knows the difference between MA, MI, and ME. It took me years to realize that those and other two-letter things were states. I have no reason to try to memorize fifty unclear symbols to know where you are.

Ah, Your Reverence will never win this one. Using those initials is part of our "official" addresses. It's second nature to use them.

The interesting thing that no American has yet mentioned is that we don't remember the ones we don't use on a regular basis either. It takes me a moment to remember that MI is Michigan and not Mississippi.

I've heard or been a part of this sort of conversation more than once:

"Hey, is AL Alabama?"
"I thought it was Alaska."
"No, Alaska is AK."
"Really? Than what's Arkansas?"

I suppose it doesn't help that the post office panjandrums have decided that CA means both California and Canada.

Good luck on the anti-abbreviation front. No one will be happier than I if you succeed. But no one will be more surprised either.

Cheers,

-John-