Slide 2: Why are gas prices at the pump always listed to nine-tenths of a cent?
No one seems to know exactly where or when the practice originated, but everyone agrees gas was sold at the pump in fractions of a cent at least as far back as the 1920s or 1930s, when automobile culture really began to take off. Some say that the fractional pricing was introduced in response to federal gasoline taxes that were themselves assessed in parts of a cent. Others say that tiny price changes of a tenth of a cent were more significant back when a gallon of gasoline didn't cost much more than a dime. And everyone agrees that pricing at nine-tenths of a cent gives the station owner the same advantage a grocer might get for charging $1.99 rather than a whopping $2.00 for a bottle of sparkling water. Whatever its origin, the practice is now built in to the pricing system. Federal and state taxes on gasoline still work out to a fraction of a cent per gallon and get paid when distributors purchase fuel from the refineries. The distributors who sell to the filling stations often set their prices such that the total after tax ends with nine-tenths of a cent. The station owner who buys it can then just mark up the price by a few whole cents and pass along the nine-tenths to the consumer. In the 1980s the government of Iowa abolished nine-tenths-pricing on the grounds that it was deceptive but then rescinded the ban four years later.
Slide 3: Standard Oil refinery in 1910. Photo: Richmond Public Library
When Gasoline was so Cheap it was Worthless
During the early days of Standard Oil (this was before cars became popular), kerosene was the name of the game. Gasoline, a by-product of petroleum distillation to produce kerosene, didn't have much demand. It was a cheap product used to treat lice and a solvent to remove grease stains from clothing ... In fact, gas was so cheap that oil companies used to dump it in rivers!
Slide 4: The Reason the Saudis are so Rich Extracting oil from the ground is complicated - but it's also a well established science. Have you asked yourself how much exactly does it costs Saudi Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia and the world's largest oil producer, to produce a barrel of crude oil? Forbes magazine has the answer: Aramco can quench its gargantuan thirst for development: It's easily the most profitable company on the planet. While results are closely held, Aramco stands to net, after amortization of capital costs, roughly $200 billion a year on revenue in excess of $350 billion. Last year oil minister Ali Al-Naimi told reporters that the average barrel of Saudi oil costs just $2 to produce. It sells for $130. ( Source)
Slide 5: Brazil's Talita Antunes holds the ball during the bronze medal women's beach volleyball match against China at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. China won 21-19, 21-17.
Slide 6: Michael Phelps Returns To His Tank At Sea World
August 21, 2008 | Onion Sports
ORLANDO—Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist and SeaWorld main attraction Michael Phelps returned to his seven-million-gallon water tank Wednesday to resume his normal schedule of performing in six shows a day for marine park crowds every day of the week. Phelps, the 6'4", 200-pound aquatic mammal, and the first ever SeaWorld swimmer to be raised in captivity by foster swimmers (Mark Spitz and Dara Torres), was recaptured by trainer Bob Bowman in a hoop net baited with an entire Dutch apple pie following Phelps' final Olympic event last Sunday. Phelps was then tethered to the rudder of a container ship bound for St. Petersburg, guided down local waterways, and introduced back into his home habitat, the tank in SeaWorld's 5,500 seat stadium, known to park officials and visitors alike as "Phelps' Happy Harbor." "Michael seemed really excited to be back," said Bowman, adding that the male swimmer became playful upon entering his tank, breaching the water and sounding repeatedly. "He just started swimming freestyle and backstroke, and only stopped to slide belly first onto the tank's platform so he could be fed dozens of fried egg sandwiches." "He fell asleep at the surface of the water around midnight," Bowman added.
Slide 7: Christina Applegate has double mastectomy
NEW YORK (AP) -- Christina Applegate is taking the long view of her battle with breast cancer -- the really long view. Christina Applegate says her doctors "got everything out" during her breast cancer treatment. Speaking on ABC News' "Good Morning America" in her first interview since announcing her diagnosis earlier this month, the "Samantha Who?" star said she had a double mastectomy three weeks ago. She'll undergo reconstructive surgery over the next eight months. "I'm going to have cute boobs 'til I'm 90, so there's that," she joked in the interview, which aired Tuesday. "I'll have the best boobs in the nursing home. I'll be the envy of all the ladies around the bridge table." The 36-year-old actress elected to remove both breasts even though the disease was contained in one breast. She said she is now cancer-free.
Slide 8: Aston Martin Unseats the Veyron as the World's Most Expensive Car
August 08, 2008
The Bugatti Veyron just lost its last claim to fame. Having already been dethroned as the fastest car on the planet, the $1.4 million Veyron and its more expensive roadster sibling are no longer the world's most expensive rides. That title now rests with the One-77, the $2.3 million hand-made coupe Aston Martin will sell next year. No more than 77 will be built, a figure that makes Bugatti's run of 300 Veyrons look mass-market and just beats the 80 Veyron roadsters in exclusivity. A British bookie already is laying odds on who'll get the first one. Paying $2.3 million for anything that doesn't have wings is beyond excessive, but then, those few who get a One-77 aren't buying a car. They are, according to Aston Martin, buying An Experience. Autocar says buyers will be invited to the factory in Gaydon, where they'll meet with designers and engineers to develop the car to their exact specifications. "It's a very special car for customers who want to take the bespoke experience to a higher level," company chairman David Richard told Autocar. "Every car will be entirely individual." Aston Martin isn't saying much about the One-77, a code name for the as-yet-unnamed coupe, but the project started about 15 months ago. The handhammered aluminum bodywork retains the general profile of the gorgeous DB9 but is more muscular. It covers a carbon fiber chassis and a 7.0-liter V12 engine said to produce 650 horsepower. Top speed is estimated at 220 mph and 60 mph arrives in 3.5 seconds. Those figures are well short of the 253 mph and 2.5 seconds the Bugatti has hit, but Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Benz says the company isn't "doing a Veyron." Instead, the company's flagship will highlight its latest technology, raising the possibility future Astons will make greater use of carbon fiber and other advancements developed for the One-77. The company reportedly has identified 500 or so potential customers and will bring a One-77 to their homes -- when you're spending that kind of money, you aren't expected to actually visit a showroom. So who's on the list? The bookies at William Hill Casinos have opened betting and David Beckham is their 9-4 favorite to be first in line. Singer Jay Kay of Jamiroquai is second at 3-1, while the odds on Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich stand at 7-2. As for Aston Martin's decision to build just 77, it's said to have stemmed from Bez's belief that seven is a lucky number. It certainly is for those fortunate enough to get one.
Slide 9: Inappropriate ‘High School Musical’ Panties Upset Parents
It's not surprising that High School Musical promotes itself by making clothes, but it is surprising that the words "Dive appear on the front of a new style of underpants for 7-year-old girls.
In"
Naturally, parents are upset because they find the underwear sexually suggestive. (The phrase refers to a scene in the movie where kids dive into a pool.) The undergarments are sneakily packaged, too: The words "Dive In" aren't visible until the underwear is out of its packaging, which we imagine only furthers the anger/irritation factor for parents. A spokesperson for Asda, the company that makes the underwear, said Disney approved the style, adding, "It was completely innocent and certainly not meant to cause any offense to customers, however we will now consider our next steps in relation to the small number of items remaining on sale." So we just have one question: How come Disney makes one distasteful kids' garment and the world freaks out, but when Kimora Lee Simmons and Beyoncé make lots of distasteful kids' garments no one thinks twice about it? Just because it's less than surprising doesn't mean we should brush it under the rug.
Slide 10: Court gives green light to "boobs on bikes" parade
A New Zealand court has allowed a parade of topless porn stars on motor bikes to proceed on the main street of the country's biggest city, local media said Tuesday. Auckland City Council had sought a court injunction to stop the "Boobs on Bikes" parade, scheduled for Wednesday, saying it breached a bylaw banning offensive public events. But Judge Nicola Mathers said while opponents may find the parade offensive or tasteless, the fact that 80,000 people had gathered for a similar event last year meant a significant number of people did not agree with the critics, New Zealand Press Association said. The parade on Queens St., featuring leather-clad local and international porn stars, is part of an "Erotica Expo" organized by self-styled "porn king" Steve Crow.
Slide 11: Man denied refund for condoms accused of calling 911
8/20/2008, The Associated Press ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (AP) — Englewood police say a man called 911 and reported a robbery after a gas station wouldn't give him his money back for an unopened box of condoms. Police charged Kadien Jackson with making a false report. Police say they take such things seriously because of the danger it poses to officers. Officers responded quickly to the call on Sunday and found a gas station employee who fit the description of the robber given by the caller. Police say Jackson told them he made the bogus report to help him get his money back. The 21-year-old is from Blauvelt, N.Y.
Slide 12: Corpse kept upright for 3-day wake in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Puerto Rican man has been granted his wish to remain standing — even in death. A funeral home used a special embalming treatment to keep the corpse of 24-year-old Angel Pantoja Medina standing upright for his three-day wake. Dressed in a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses, Pantoja was mourned by relatives while propped upright in his mother's living room. His brother Carlos told the El Nuevo Dia newspaper the victim had long said he wanted to be upright for his own wake: "He wanted to be happy, standing." The owner of the Marin Funeral Home, Damaris Marin, told The Associated Press the mother asked him to fulfill her dead son's last wish. Pantoja was found dead Friday underneath a bridge in San Juan and buried Monday. Police are investigating.
Slide 13: Abandoned ashes piling up at funeral homes
As cremations rise, more families are leaving relatives' remains behind BOSTON - The abandoned ashes are stacked floor to ceiling in the basement of the Graham, Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors, tucked neatly on wooden shelves and tables and in an unused dumbwaiter. Someone loved the people once, enough to have their bodies cremated — then promptly forgot or decided they didn't want them. "The fact is, if no one claims them, there's nothing you can do with them," said funeral director Peter Stefan, of Worcester. "You can't throw them away. They could be Uncle Freddy's ashes. They could come and sue you." Storage or disposal of abandoned ashes is a growing national problem, as the number of cremations is on the rise. Even in states that allow the burial or scattering of abandoned ashes, some funeral homes store them for years, hoping one day to place them in the hands of a relative.
Slide 14: Teacher Arrested, Accused Of Having Sex With Student
Thursday, Aug 21, 2008 ALLEGANY COUNTY, MD - An Allegany County teacher has been arrested for allegedly having a sexual relationship with one of her 16-year-old students. Autumn Leathers, 24, faces numerous charges, including child abuse, child sexual abuse, and sex offenses. She is an English teacher at Mountain Ridge High School. Officers say they were contacted by a resident, who noticed the student at Leathers’ home several times in the late evening. When he was interviewed by officers, the student told them he and Leathers had a sexual relationship that started in May of this year and continued throughout the summer. Authorities believe all of the sexual activity occurred at Leathers’ home, not in the school. A search warrant was executed at Leathers’ home on Braddock Street in Frostburg Wednesday evening, where police found other evidence that has become part of the investigation. She is being held at the Allegany County Detention Center on $25,000 bond. She is also on administrative leave by the Board of Education pending termination proceedings.
