Photo by staceyviera.

UPDATE: Looks like we might have helped to blow the service’s cover — we tried calling the service again later this morning and were greeted by a message stating that Verizon would no longer be maintaining the service. Those of you who still use the service will have to keep your fingers crossed that another organization picks up the contract to keep the hotline alive.

One of the best things about writing for DCist is that, every now and then, the public reacts in very interesting ways to the posts we produce. For example: this post former weekend editor Catherine Finn wrote about an antiquated D.C. and Maryland hotline which Verizon was putting out to pasture, joining 48 other states around the country who had long since moved on to checking other sources for the time and temperature. Both commenters and readers wrote to tell us that they actually still depended on the service, and our admittedly snarky headline led Washington Post columnist John Kelly to dub us as “the Web site for the young and hip.” (I swear, we don’t hate old people!)

But it sounds like those of you who don’t want to leap headfirst into using such radical new technologies like television, radio, Google or the U.S. Naval Observatory Master Clock hotline might not have to worry — Kelly reports that the (202) 936-1212 service, which has been in place since 1939, has so far outlived its execution date. Kelly also notes that there are discussions for another party to come in and keep the service running, including his employers at the Post. The weather reporters apparently charge $800 a month to provide four forecasts a day — any new owners would also need to invest in phone technology.