# "Dings" at the gas pump **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2000, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558 "2000-05-25T22:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2000, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/1 "2000-05-25T22:45:18Z")
In the old days (like the 1970s), gas pumps used to make a “ding” periodically when the attendant was filling your tank. What was this sound supposed to indicate? Did it ding after a dollar’s worth of gas? Did it ding after one gallon had been pumped? Or was there no connection between the ding and anything else? I suspect the first choice. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/2 "2000-05-25T22:56:44Z")
I remember them; I _think_ they dinged for every nickel or dime worth of gas. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2000, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/3 "2000-05-25T23:04:57Z")
Well, I don’t know about “dings” specifically coming from the pump itself, but there was a “ding” that came from the cord that cars ran over when they pulled into the gas station to indicate to the attendant that a car has pulled in. ---
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/4 "2000-05-26T00:32:35Z")
I think it was to let the person know that the gas was indeed pumping and to freakin’ well _pay attention to where the nozzle is_ instead of staring at the flipping numbers! I vote that we go on a campaign to **Revive The Ding!** Can’t you picture the protests on the street? Hundreds of Dopers carrying placards emblazoned with our motto. Oh, the perplexity we could create! ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/5 "2000-05-26T00:45:18Z")
If you want to get a _real_ protest going, you’re going to need some advice from old lefties such as your humble moderator. First, your signs need to be catchy but slightly annoying. **Bring the Ding!** and **Rebel for the Bell** would be a good start. It’s also legally required that at least some signs be offensively pandering and mostly off-topic, so you’ll probably want to print up some signs that say **Dings…for our Children’s sake**. Get a waif to carry that one guarantees above-the-fold coverage. Little rainbows with blue at the top and red at the bottom are optional. Next, you need a chant. There are only two protest chants in the entire English-speaking world, each adapted for the specific protest. For your movement, you’ll need **Hey Hey, Ho Ho, silent gas has got to go** (repeat ad nauseum) and **Hey, hey, what d’ya say? If there’s no ding than we won’t pay** (similarly repeat). Good luck in your crusade. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/6 "2000-05-26T00:55:55Z")
One, two, three, four, What the heck are we pumping for? Make Ding, Not War? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/7 "2000-05-26T03:13:26Z")
…I remeber gas-wars where gas was 19 cents/gal. My _memory_ is that the ding from the gas pump was for a gallon. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/8 "2000-05-26T04:19:09Z")
Ain’t no pump. It’s a dispenser. Pump’s inna ground. Peace, mangeorge (Pedantry personified) ---
**Author:** ![VaHermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ed655f/32.png) [@VaHermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VaHermit)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/9 "2000-05-26T11:50:22Z")
Ah, samclem, those were the days. Get the guys together, skip school and pick up pop bottles for an hour and ride around all day. Thirty cent gas, eighteen cents a pack for cigs, and penny candy actually cost a penny. I remember them well. Gas was cheap enough that we didn’t worry about the price, we just knew that Ol’ Betsy would take us ten miles for every gallon/ding. BTW, mangeorge, You’re probably right about the dispenser thing these days, but back then the pump and all of the associated plumbing was packaged in the “one armed bandit”, only thing in the ground was the storage tank. ---
**Author:** ![swisemankcmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@swisemankcmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swisemankcmo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dings-at-the-gas-pump/20558/10 "2000-05-26T12:43:07Z")
For what they want for gas these days, we damn well OUGHTA get dings with it!