"zip" as a metaphor for compressing something makes even less sense than the zip in functional programming - actually "zip" for compression doesn't make any sense at all. But maybe zip in the context of compression was never meant as a metaphor.
>[ZIP] implied speed ("zippy") and sexiness ("zipper")
TIL!
That deemphasises the compression aspect though.
I wonder if this influenced 'tarball', or maybe it's just human nature to think of objects in those terms.