gasoline

I was at Costco buying gasoline recently. It was a zoo--long lines and a bit of waiting in exchange for a price a few cents cheaper than ordinary gas stations.

I picked a line and waited in the car with my wife. At some point I noticed a person stretching the gas nozzle around to the opposite side of his car. "How strange," I thought, "that they wouldn't pull up with the gas cap right next to the pump."

There being nothing to do but wait, I kept looking around. I thought to myself, "Hey, there's another one--that woman is stretching the gas nozzle across her car to the gas cap on the side opposite the pump."

When I saw a third, I got really curious--and I mention it to my wife. Pretty soon I decide to do a count. Of the people in my line-of-sight, 7 out of 9 were filling up gas tanks on the opposite side of the car from the pump. 7 out of 9. 77%.

Now maybe it was just a fluke. But as someone who nearly always chooses the wrong checkout line in the supermarket, I find myself incredibly curious about the dynamics of group thinking that leads to so many people wrestling a long gas nozzle and hose to the opposite side of their vehicle.

I plan on getting gas at Costco again to have another look. Stay tuned...