Transfer: Detroit Section: Floating Post Office

Monday, August 12, 2013

Detroit Section/ Floating Post Office

Floating Post Office?

A fun fact about Detroit to help Detroiters learn and love their city. Detroit is the only city in the United States to have a post office on a boat, but also been assigned its own area code 48222.

The boat has been delivering mail for over 100 years! This starter in 1874 by J.W. Westcott, the boat is called the J.W. Westcott II. The boat deliverers mail along the Ambassador bridge.

J.W. Westcott II is also the only floating post office in the world that delivers to other ships that are already underway!

Love Detroit, she needs you!  

Transfer: Detroit Section/ The oldest soda

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Detroit Section/ The oldest soda

Vernors soda pop was invented in 1866 by Dr. James Vernor.

Dr. Vernors was a pharmacist in Detroit. While working in a drug store he stated experimenting with ginger ale. The story goes he left some of his ginger ale experiment in a cork barrel for 4 years, because he went off to fight in the Michigan Calvary during the Civil War. After returning and opening the cork barrel he noticed the soda had been changed by a aging processes.

So 1896 James Vernor and his son closed the drug store and opened a soda bottle company on Woodward ave south of Jefferson.

He was a leading businessman in Detroit and severed on many boards before he died in Grosse Ile at age 84.

The Vernors company  was trademarked in 1911. It is not the oldest ginger ale soda in America, but it is the oldest surviving ginger ale soda in America to this day!

Detroit and Vernors do hold the title for the oldest ice cream float in America. Long before A & W the most popular ice cream float in America. The Vernors ice cream float is sometimes called a "Boston Cooler". This is done by blending vanilla ice cream and Vernors together in a blender like a milk shake!

Hope you enjoy a Detroit invention! The "Detroit Cooler"!

love Detroit she needs you!   

Transfer: Detroit Section- Salt mines under Detroit

Friday, August 16, 2013

Detroit Section- Salt mines under Detroit

Salt mines under Detroit

One of the unknown jewels of Detroit is that there are huge reserves of salt under the city. About 1200 miles under the lays miles of mines. There is salt rock and halite in the mines.

Salt rock is really called halite, it is a mineral form of sodium chloride. It comes in many shapes and sizes called isometric crystal. It is formed by evaporation of water and other minerals. Generally white or gray, but can come in a wide range of colors.

The salt was created about 400 million years ago, when sea level withdraw and glaciers covered the salt. It is believed to enough salt to last the next 70 million years!

love Detroit, she needs you!