# Gas Out? Are you really that stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 25, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523 "2007-05-25T18:59:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/21 "2007-05-25T20:36:48Z")
The most recent pass-it-on email that I got on the subject spoke against one-day gas-outs, but then went on so say that what we should do is boycott Exxon and Shell because their gas is highest and they’re both big companies. The idea is to force them into starting a gas war. That comes closer to making sense. Won’t affect me. I always go for the cheap stuff anyway just because, you know, it costs less. Although I’ve learned that sometimes reeeeeally cheap gas can give such low gas mileage that it’s more per mile. I’m not seeing this working, though. People paying more for the big brands have to be doing it because they think the gas is better. Right? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/22 "2007-05-25T20:37:42Z")
If we really wanted to protest the price of gas, we’d all bike to work. Then the next day we could have a “Gawd, we’re out of shape.” national sick day! Sponsored by BenGay! BenGay isn’t a petroleum product, is it? Those damn sand monkeys got us by the balls any way you look at it. ---
**Author:** ![Gundam\_Cricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@Gundam\_Cricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundam_Cricket)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/23 "2007-05-25T20:45:54Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] The most recent pass-it-on email that I got on the subject spoke against one-day gas-outs, but then went on so say that what we should do is boycott Exxon and Shell because their gas is highest and they’re both big companies. The idea is to force them into starting a gas war. That comes closer to making sense. Won’t affect me. I always go for the cheap stuff anyway just because, you know, it costs less. Although I’ve learned that sometimes reeeeeally cheap gas can give such low gas mileage that it’s more per mile. I’m not seeing this working, though. People paying more for the big brands have to be doing it because they think the gas is better. Right? [/QUOTE] I think that’s covered in the [Snopes link](http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp) link ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/24 "2007-05-25T20:52:59Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] The most recent pass-it-on email that I got on the subject spoke against one-day gas-outs, but then went on so say that what we should do is boycott Exxon and Shell because their gas is highest and they’re both big companies. The idea is to force them into starting a gas war. That comes closer to making sense. [/QUOTE] [Won’t work, though.](http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp) The problem is that oil companies can and do sell gas to each other. If nobody buys gas from Exxon or Shell, those companies can just sell their gas to stations that operate under some other label. **The only way to get gas prices to go down is to buy less gas overall, not just buy less gas from one particular station or on one particular day. That’s it. There’s no other way.** There are various ways to accomplish that, but all of them are more involved than just changing where and when you buy gas. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/25 "2007-05-25T21:01:07Z")
Okay I’m all for it. Tonight it’ll be burritos, refried beans, cabbage and dairy products for dinner. Tomorrow, the great gas out! ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/26 "2007-05-25T21:17:35Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] Oh, and a bird shit on Bush! HOORAY! [/QUOTE] I thought that [needed its own thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=422323). ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/27 "2007-05-25T21:23:29Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] How do they benefit exactly? Do they make commissions on bags of Doritos? [/QUOTE] Um…I know this sounds like one of those paranoid conspiracy theories, but my dad knew a guy who’s uncle ran one of those stores. Evidently the shop owners will buy Doritios at one price and sell them to the general public at a _higher price_. And it’s not just Doritos either. They do it with all kinds of stuff: smokes, Mountain Dew, Jerkey…all kinds of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/28 "2007-05-25T21:23:36Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] How do they benefit exactly? Do they make commissions on bags of Doritos? [/QUOTE] Yeah. It’s called mark-up. See, they buy it for X, and sell it for X plus Y. The difference is called _gross profit_. After they subtract expenses, they are left with _net profit_. If that number is large enough, they are running a _successful business_. Which is pretty much the point of the exercise. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/29 "2007-05-25T21:52:10Z")
My sister, who has a genius IQ, thinks the gas-out is a good idea. Even after reading the Snopes link. This is one of many reasons I’m not impressed with people with high IQs. There’s more to intelligence than that. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/30 "2007-05-25T21:56:38Z")
The thing is, there’s really nothing to wrap one’s head around to see that this is a load of crap. If you don’t buy milk, say, this Tuesday, do you actually go without milk? Did someone lose a sale? Of course not… you went shopping the day before and got milk. How are these ideas even rectified together in someone’s mind? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/31 "2007-05-25T21:58:07Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] For some reason, I’m always delighted when someone misuses this word and ends up looking ridiculous. [/QUOTE] Heh. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/32 "2007-05-25T22:51:33Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Yeah. It’s called mark-up. See, they buy it for X, and sell it for X plus Y. The difference is called _gross profit_. After they subtract expenses, they are left with _net profit_. If that number is large enough, they are running a _successful business_. Which is pretty much the point of the exercise. [/QUOTE] Whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/33 "2007-05-25T22:53:01Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] Heh. [/QUOTE] I don’t think I misused it, did I? I was referring to the fact that I’m enjoying the fact that all these idiots who bought ridiculous cars and are now bitching. I get a feeling that it is these idiots that are still clinging on the fact that their stupid choice can somehow be blamed on someone else. And for bush? Well… I would participate, however, if it somehow were to make people think twice about our consumption. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/34 "2007-05-25T23:10:33Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] I’ve heard of a station owner in California who has been making so little on the coffee, smokes and Doritos that he jacked up his prices to $4.50 for regular. The idea being that he’ll get so few customers that the oil company he’s leasing from will buy him out. [/QUOTE] You’re probably thinking of [this guy](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/10/MNGUKPOGKJ1.DTL), who’s unhappy with how Shell does business and squeezes the franchise operators to death. > [@Snipe1978](#): > > …if you drive 100 miles a day for work, buy a smaller more efficient car. Great idea. Problem is, not everyone can afford adding another car payment and another vehicle to their insurance, so spending more on gas comes to be cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/35 "2007-05-26T01:41:03Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] Whoosh? [/QUOTE] I don’t know. You could be right. Was the post ironic, deliberately provocative, or stupid? I’m not seeing the irony. I am open to enlightenment. Can you help a brother out? ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/36 "2007-05-26T02:13:01Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] Great idea. Problem is, not everyone can afford adding another car payment and another vehicle to their insurance, so spending more on gas comes to be cheaper. [/QUOTE] Even if you sell the SUV and buy a smaller, cheaper, more fuel-efficient car? ETA: I’m not being snarky, here. I’ve never sold or traded in a car I’m making payments on and buy a new one. Would getting rid of the SUV and buying a used little Honda Civic in good condition put the erstwhile SUV owner in the hole, somehow? ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/37 "2007-05-26T02:26:03Z")
If I could afford a TDI, I’d have one already, same with a couple models of hybrids. Do you think that the people organizing these “gas outs” are Escalade drivers? Fuck no. They probably have inefficient 6 cylinder cars, or even worse a gas guzzling V8. Highly fuel efficient cars are _expensive_ for those that gas prices impact the most. I have a fairly efficient 4 cylinder Civic, and I’d still rather not pay as much as I do for gas. I patronize the stations in my area that have the lowest prices, both for myself and them, they have the lowest profit margins. [www.gasbuddy.com](http://www.gasbuddy.com) Use it! I think that the people that are being hit hardest by gas prices (people who travel for work and aren’t reimbursed, i.e. pizza delivery people, wide area contractors etc.) _are_ trying to use less fuel. They don’t have the option of biking or buying a new car, or taking the bus. The people that can afford burning gas like it’s free, are the ones that help keep the demand side of the equation supported. FWIW, and no I don’t believe it, the theory behind “gas outs” as I’ve heard it, involves disrupting daily delivery and storage amounts. Meaning that the gas trucks have nowhere to deliver the gas, and the storage space has already been taken up by the next days supply. IMO, thinking that petroleum companies can’t think one day ahead of the game is idiotic. Thank God we have a former oil man in the White House! He’ll save us! ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/38 "2007-05-26T02:38:47Z")
The public is already effectively boycotting extremely high gas prices in Chicago. I drive by the corner of Fullerton and California every day going to and from work. There are two gas stations across the street from each other at this intersection. One is selling gas at $4.19 per gallon while the other is selling it at $4.09. These prices are about 20-30 cents higher than anywhere else on the northwest side. I haven’t seen a single car filling up at either station all week. Today, they each dropped their price by a dime. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/39 "2007-05-26T02:58:37Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] Um…I know this sounds like one of those paranoid conspiracy theories, but my dad knew a guy who’s uncle ran one of those stores. Evidently the shop owners will buy Doritios at one price and sell them to the general public at a _higher price_. And it’s not just Doritos either. They do it with all kinds of stuff: smokes, Mountain Dew, Jerkey…all kinds of stuff. [/QUOTE] You funny! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523/40 "2007-05-26T02:59:44Z")
The ones at work who sent this around the office have two Explorers, and H2 and one of those Mercedes SUVs between them. My sympathy for their spat with the consumer commodities market abounds. Before they were told to stop sending those things (I gave up trying to send Snopes links) I just started replying ‘OK, I won’t by any gas on any day you ask me to’. I don’t own a car and bike to work. Their replies were much in the “I WASN’T TALKING TO YOU, MISKATONIC” vein. Funny thing is, even though I always reply only to them by email; The last emailer re-added the entire office email to her reply. Hilarity ensued. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-out-are-you-really-that-stupid/405523.md?page=3)