Detroit

Detroit was and is always at the forefront of technology—hey, excluding the automotive leader this town ~~is~~ was, we were also once "The Stove Capitol of the World" and the refrigerated boxcar was high-tech stuff. Nowadays, it's difficult to even conceptualize, much less not take for granted, a "long-distance call:" thanks to satellite technology and those pocket-sized computers we carry called smartphones, people all over the world are immediately "right next door."

Jason Clinton over at City Tour Detroit however recounts a tale from different times, of the first long-distance telephone call between the Detroit exchange (313) and Chicago (312) in 1877.

An aside: Detroit and metroDetroit™ used to be telephonically one big, happy family until 1993, "when Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, and Sanilac as well as small sections of Saginaw, Shiawassee, Livingston, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties north of Detroit" were split off into area code 810, with that splitting into 248 (splitting further into 248 and 947), 734 and 586.

More 313 bizness:

• WDIV-4: 313 Day at Valade Park on Detroit Riverfront -- it's forecasted to be warm (high 50s-low 60s) but bring your um-ber-ella-ella-ella just in case.
• Fox2: 'Three Thirteen Store' prepares for 313 Day in Detroit