The Barometer stopped to fill up the tank for a rental car. Return a rental car with less than a full tank and one child’s college fund will need to be depleted. At the point of the fill-up, the odometer had added a mere 42 miles from the time the car was rented, complete with a full tank. Indeed, the tank was above the needle when Hertz turned over the keys.
The gas pump was behaving strangely. At first, it would pump in only one-half gallon. This was not a smart car, so the tank could not be full with just one-half gallon. Undeterred, the Barometer tried again. The pump began pumping, but only after the price per gallon switched from $3.37 to $0.337. The pump was relentless and the car that had gone 42 miles on a full tank required 6 (and some change, literally and figuratively) gallons for a fill-up. A hummer equipped with IED shields gets better mileage. But, at $0.337 the six gallons were a bargain, bringing up a grand total of $2.07 for the gas-filling episode.
Though late for a flight, the Barometer trekked into the AM/PM mart to let the good folks working there know two things: (1) That their pump was pumping furiously at $0.337 per gallon; and (2) That something more than $2.07 was due and owing. The whole volume/price-per-gallon issues proved to be too much for the staff. Three staff members worked mightily to determine the issues with Pump #4. Herewith excerpts from the exchange:
Clerk: Well, you really owe 6 gallons times $3.37 because the pump was set at the wrong price.
Barometer: I know that I owe you something more than $2.07, but I don’t see how I could have used 6 gallons driving just 42 miles.
Clerk: Because you were paying only $0.33 per gallon, the pump would just keep going and going.
Barometer: But, the car’s tank is limited in capacity.
Clerk: Not really following you. The less we charge, the more it can fill up.
The Barometer surrendered and split the difference with the staff. Driving away from pump #4, the Barometer noticed a line of cars waiting to fill ‘er up. The good folks in Atlanta had figured out that gas was $0.33 per gallon on the same day that the laws of physics and volume were suspended.
All we can do is try.