My friend Mildred Scheel shared this.

"Years ago, after a move to Louisville, Ky., my sister Lane continued loyalties to some businesses in Nashville, Tenn. One morning before initiating a call to a department store in Nashville, she cautioned her young children to be quiet as she was making a long-distance call.

"She gave the number (calls were operator assisted at that time) and when the store operator answered, she requested, 'May I speak to someone in 'china'?

"As she waited for that department to answer, she overheard her oldest son (who was better versed in geography than his younger sibling) whisper, 'You guys, we better be quiet. This is REALLY long distance.'"

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