Petrol, as they say in England.

I bought gas today for $1.51 a gallon at Sam's Club. My tank read "empty", but it only took 10 gallons to fill it up, which really told me that I still had 3.2 gallons left, since it is a 13.2 gallon tank.

Also, my trip odometer from the last fill-up read exactly 300 miles. Yes, Mathy-Matherson, I get 30 miles per gallon in my little Corolla...around town. I am sure that the mileage is slightly higher with highway miles. Heck, my friggin Escort got closer to 35 miles per gallon (it was a stick-shift).

That said, I still don't understand the huge swings in gas prices. I understand the basics of supply and demand, but come on! I was paying nearly $4.50 a gallon just 6 months ago! You can't tell me that demand or supply has fluctuated THAT MUCH in such a short time. I felt like any more than 3 or 4 gallons was putting a little more stress onto the bank account than I was comfortable with. Now I fill up with gusto, knowing that even on a bone-dry tank I won't exceed $20.

That said, even 5 years ago Canadians were paying $4.50 for their gas. That's $4.50 PER LITRE! (spelled the Canadian way) Today they pay something like .85 Canadian cents per liter.

And what's with diesel fuel??? Diesel takes LESS effort and cost to produce (less refining) than regular gasoline, and yet it still costs $2.50 a gallon??? I remember days IN THIS CENTURY when it cost about .69 cents per gallon! It's like we got raped for a year and just let it happen.

I'm not much for conspiracy theories, but this one smells/looks/tastes like a conspiracy to me. Yes, it smells like poop.