As gas prices increase, so do weird stories about people's antics

Did you hear the one about the big city mayor who's urging town residents to drink tap water instead of the bottled kind because the price of gas is too high for municipal trucks to haul off all the discarded bottles? Strange, but true.

What about the one where a Philadelphia gas station was besieged by hundreds of drivers after offering gas for 76 cents a gallon for 76 minutes in honor of the city's basketball team's (the Philadelphia 76er's, of course) recent run in the NBA playoffs? No?

Well maybe you heard about what's happening in Orlando, Florida, where thieves are siphoning gas out of the tanks of company vehicles left in business parking lots overnight?

Well if you haven't heard of any of these bizarre tales all revolving around the high price of gasoline, just stay tuned. As gas prices creep ever closer to $4 a gallon (some California towns have already hit the mark), there's bound to be even crazier stories like the ones above. Watch and see as consumers resort to all kinds of ways, some not so legal, to fight off this new American headache as best they can.

Comments

[Suzanne]

Too bad some of these stories are going to be so tragic too. We've all heard about the hypermiling technique called drafting where you tailgate a large truck to be pulled along in the low pressure zone to save gas. This is so dangerous and, as more people try it to save, I'm afraid it will increase highway fatalities.

[Sue B.]

They held a pray-in at a Chevron station in CA to pray for lower gas prices. I don't think that's anything we've seen before this. I really don't find it weird, since I do believe in God's power, but it might seem strange to some.

[axel76]

Very little surprises me anymore. People are willing to do just about anything to reduce the burden of gas prices. Except drive less or carpool, of course.

[ckroll98]

Yeah, people would rather resort to stealing or praying instead of making simple, logical, practical changes in their fuel-consuming lifestyles. Sure, gas is getting close to $4 a gallon, but theft will get you a much higher fine and maybe even jail time.

[PeculiarPoPo]

I like the people who are proactively doing something about their fuel consumption. We carpool and combine trips in our house. I've read stories about HHO cars, cylinder shut off inventions, and other more mechanical efforts to reduce fuel useage. I am sure as prices go up, people will eventually change, or at least we'll hear more interesting stories about how people try to get their hands on a little gas.

[govail]

If this is what $4 gas brings, what about $5 gas? I don't see these stories going away. If anything, laws will have to be toughened to discourage gas-related mischief.