# Old Gasoline Alley question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [July 30, 2021, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626 "2021-07-30T05:04:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626/1 "2021-07-30T05:04:13Z")
This daily Gasoline Alley strip from 1939 makes a reference to the Arabian Nights which I don’t get. I’m new to Gasoline Alley, and this is from a Facebook page which is posting them daily. All I know of the story thus far: Skeezix started working (without having been hired) at a newspaper- like an intern (like Kramer, someone said). He’s called into the office where this scene is. I’ve started reading the old GAs, and I see now why it was so popular. [https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/s640x640/222733714\_10222313769147094\_1946909263473515904\_n.jpg?\_nc\_cat=111&ccb=1-3&\_nc\_sid=825194&\_nc\_ohc=4e1SCOM2RSoAX\_8Mp20&\_nc\_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=2f2a59c3a30ace95e5e04358beb84859&oe=6128F373](https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/s640x640/222733714_10222313769147094_1946909263473515904_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=825194&_nc_ohc=4e1SCOM2RSoAX_8Mp20&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=2f2a59c3a30ace95e5e04358beb84859&oe=6128F373) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626/2 "2021-07-30T05:34:20Z")
Seems to just mean “don’t tell me any stories”, as in he could have mentioned fairy tales instead of _Arabian Nights_. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626/3 "2021-07-30T08:02:30Z")
I agree with Darren - the boss just thinks it’s all ‘made up’. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626/4 "2021-07-30T22:17:50Z")
$120 a week for a half-time cub reporter in 1939? That’s the real “Arabian Nights” story! (The median income for a male in 1940 was $956. That’s $956 _ **per year.** _) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626/5 "2021-07-30T22:41:14Z")
Doesn’t it say “$7.20 a week”? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626/6 "2021-07-30T23:04:20Z")
Right. $7.20 a week. Not a cub reporter (yet, idk if ever), just a gopher afaict. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626/7 "2021-07-30T23:25:33Z")
Which is $374 a year. Or $7,300 adjusted for inflation. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gasoline-alley-question/947626/8 "2021-07-31T00:57:56Z")
That certainly makes more sense. In my defense, I blew the panel up on my monitor as large as it would go, still couldn’t see a decimal point, and the 7 still looked like a 1.