One customer believes that gas stations are sabotaging their services to get drivers to spend more money. He believes that gas stations are doing this by using knob tricks.
TikTok user @datsilvertaco is a Florida-based truck owner who occasionally shares his thoughts on social media. In the video, he gives his opinion on the pumps he uses to fill up his truck with gas. “Perspective: Gas station chips off the last knob, preventing you from slowly filling up again,” reads the text overlay.
The camera zooms in on the gas pump cutout, and it looks like there is only one cutout in the handle.
“What has the world become!” @datsilvertaco captioned the post.
The video had been viewed more than 1 million times as of Monday.
What are the knobs for?
A Quora user asked about this, and a few people took a moment to explain: “The second notch on a gas pump’s squeeze trigger lock is typically designed as a safety feature to allow hands-free operation when filling up your vehicle,” one user wrote.
They continued: “Engaging the first notch on the squeeze trigger lock holds the trigger in place and allows fuel to flow without having to continually manually press the trigger. This is convenient for refueling vehicles without having to hold the trigger down the whole time. The second notch on the squeeze trigger lock is often intended for use with larger vehicles or when large amounts of fuel need to be refueled.”
@datsilvertaco What has the world become! #spreadpositivity #blackouttint #blowthisuptiktok #moneyupnotyourfunnyup #viralvideo #lessfriendsmoremoney #ontop #clean #godisgood #cardetailing #fyp #gasstation ♬ Original Sound – SFP
In this Reddit post on r/Pics, you can see an example of a pump with three notches. A user posted it with the question, “Does anyone actually use the other notches on a gas pump?” In the subsequent thread, a user speculated that the reason notched gas pumps aren’t as common is because users would make a mistake and spill gasoline.
In the comments on @datsilvertaco’s TikTok, users offered their own opinions on the question about the notches on gas pumps.
“I have literally never seen a pump handle with more than two notches,” one user said.
A second user asked: “Why pump slowly?”, to which one user replied: “In my last job I pumped slowly on purpose. I’d run a fuel truck and go to the refuelling station and waste time pumping slowly.”
Another user wrote, “I’ve never used anything other than the fastest notch before.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @datsilvertaco for comment via TikTok comments and direct message.
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