Gas Station Etiquette

Now for a quick lesson that we all should have learned long ago, but apparently we didn't. Before stating the obvious rules I'm going to go over some quick, basic concepts. The most simple of these: Fire + Gasoline = Explosion. This is followed by another simple one: Explosion + people = death (and a spot on the news). I'm sure this blog doesn't actually apply to those of you reading this because, let's face it, if you're dumb enough to smoke while fueling your car, you're probably too dumb to use a computer, get on the Internet, and find this blog. It has recently amazed me how often I either see someone smoking at the gas pump or fueling their car with the engine running. As Triumph the Insult Comic Dog would say, "They're just asking to be pooped on!!!" The whole smoking thing is just one of the most profound examples of a lack of common sense, but the running engine concept shouldn't be that hard to understand. I know it's a long line of common sense, requiring the understanding of how an engine works, the fact that cars do not completely stay still while they are idling, and the understanding of friction and sparks being created when two metal surfaces rub against each other. Then we go right back to the first basic concept: fire + gasoline = explosion. For those who do these things while at the gas station and miraculously found this blog, let's recap in simpler terms:

1. Don't smoke.

2. Turn off Engine before fueling. It will start up again afterwards.