>>Fwiw, in many countries street names are entirely commemorative with no directional meaning, and house numbers generally proceed sequentially from 1 to whatever with no association with distance or blocks. So an address like 11211 John Galt would mean there are at least 11211 addresses on that very long street.
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>My house number is 5755.
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>There are 9 houses on my street (gravel road actually).
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>Go figure.

It must have been a long night of partying before they assigned my address. It is 221 South Wildrose Court, which is strange for a number of reasons.

1. Why 221? It is on a cul de sac with nine houses.
2. There is no North Wildrose.
3. South Wildrose is on the north side of the (relatively) major crossing street.

My uncle Rollie was once interviewed on the Today Show following the renumbering of his street in a small Maine town. Who knows how they found him because he sure wasn't the type to wave his arms around seeking attention. Earlier homeowners had been free to choose their own street numbers without regard to any order. So 113 might be next to 4. And 27, and 15, and so on. The street of lucky numbers, I guess. The USPS decided this is silly and confusing and changed the house numbers in the customary pattern of odd and even sides of the street and ascending numbers. The residents didn't like it a bit. Somehow this tempest in a teapot led to Uncle Rollie being on the Today Show. "You have to admit the old way was hard to understand," the coiffed anchor said. "We all understand it," Rollie said. "We know where everyone lives." No wonder Garrison Keillor has made a career of writing about small towns.