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Once there will be no more digits to use for displaying price per gallon they will be forced to display price per liter as it still could fit

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[-] saltnotsugar@lemmy.world 95 points 5 days ago

The Americans will summon quarts or some other unholy measurement.

[-] kiterios@lemmy.world 18 points 5 days ago

1 quart = 1.14 litre. Price per quart will be lower than price per litre, so you're definitely correct. If it was the other way around I'd say there could be some wiggle room for the marketing benefit, but alas that is not the case.

[-] 4am@lemmy.zip 12 points 5 days ago
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[-] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 23 points 4 days ago

This would be funny af

[-] ivanvector@piefed.ca 49 points 5 days ago

This would literally work. If one station has $9.49 (/gal) on its sign and the station across the street is $3.79 (/L), there are absolutely enough dumb Americans who will line up for the more expensive gas with the lower number.

A&W nearly went bankrupt because Americans couldn't figure out that 1/3lb is more than 1/4lb. This is a good idea.

[-] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 7 points 4 days ago

A&W nearly went bankrupt because Americans couldn't figure out that 1/3lb is more than 1/4lb.

Myth.

Anyone who had their 1/3lb burger knows why A&W nearly went bankrupt, and it had nothing to do with the size of the patty.

It was easily the worst burger I've ever experienced.

"Americans don't understand fractions" is the marketing they used to save face. The reality is that they didn't have any repeat customers.

[-] snooggums@piefed.world 18 points 4 days ago

The firm eventually conducted a focus group to discover the truth: participants were concerned about the price of the burger. "Why should we pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat?" they asked.

It turns out the majority of participants incorrectly believed one-third of a pound was actually smaller than a quarter of a pound.

https://awrestaurants.com/blog/memories-history/the-truth-about-aws-third-pound-burger-and-the-major-math-mix-up/

They didn't almost go bankrupt, but yes they did have a focus group where the majority of people did not understand fractions.

[-] Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

That literally only comes from A&W themselves, and the first mention of it was in the memoir of the former CEO at the time.

After he released his memoir trying to rehabilitate his image after being released from prison for fraud.

Not exactly a reliable account. There are zero other sources for the myth than the chain itself.

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[-] Tiral@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago

Is this gonna be like that time Americans didn't buy the 1/3lb burger from Burger King because they thought the 1/4lber from McDonald's was bigger. As an American myself, and a teacher for over a decade, people are legitimately retarded. I'm surprised shoes with laces is still the norm TBH.

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[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Many US gas stations switched to liters for a while during the original "gas crisis" in the 70s. One crooked station near my house switched to liters without saying so - they simply covered or removed "gal" on the price signs, so they said like $0.85 with no units, so the price for a gallon was over $4. To further hide it, when customers asked to fill the tank the attendants only put in about a quarter tank, so the price would be realistic for a fillup measured in gallons. It pissed off one guy so much he stood in front of the place for about a month with a ginormous sign that said "BUYER BEWARE! REG OVER $4/GAL".

[-] LodeMike@lemmy.today 7 points 4 days ago

I think a court would side with the drivers in a case about this.

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[-] anarchy79@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago

God bless America.

[-] Squizzy@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago
[-] myyass@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

I want a liter of cola with my burger, and hold the spit.

[-] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 5 points 3 days ago
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[-] fullsquare@awful.systems 22 points 5 days ago

they'll just tape 1 in front of display

[-] Cort@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

Exactly! It's the same thing they did after gas went over a dollar per gallon.

[-] anarchy79@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

The death throes of an empire. Dangerous thing, that.

[-] carrylex@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago
[-] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 7 points 4 days ago

Get your subscription to gas today!

[-] anarchy79@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

I think the whole planet is already on a subscription plan.

Subscription planet, as it were.

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[-] MangoCats@feddit.it 8 points 4 days ago

Liters are communist.

We're switching to pints!

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[-] exaybachae@startrek.website 13 points 5 days ago

Naw, just post like 10.2... the exact pennies doesn't matter really. It would get printed on the receipt still, but doesn't need to be displayed everywhere.

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[-] Malica@lemmy.zip 7 points 4 days ago

Lol I can see the boomer tantrums now

[-] criticon@lemmy.ca 8 points 4 days ago

I thought about this too while I was filling up my tank yesterday, but I think they would just switch to quarts since that is just 1/4 of a gallon

[-] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 6 points 4 days ago

That's right. Europe uses liters because that's their biggest liquid measurement. Ours is gallons, so we'll just split that by 4. You think MAGAs are going to go along with switching to a foreign commie system for our beautiful American gas?

[-] Lysergid@lemmy.ml 5 points 4 days ago

Let me introduce you to quettalitre, 10^30 litre. a.k.a. cubic gigametre

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[-] SkyNTP@lemmy.ml 7 points 4 days ago

More likely, the last cent digit will just drop because it isn't significant (rounding up of course, don't want to miss an opportunity to squeeze even more!).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Significant_figures

[-] bitchkat@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

In the 70's when gas broke $1.00 per gallon and most pumps couldn't handle it, they just set the pumps to half the price and charged double that when you went in to pay. Pump would say $5 and you paid $10. That would be a lot harder today since rarely are people paying inside.

[-] Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 days ago

They will change the advertised price to quarts, it's much easier for the and it will mess with people because prices will look 4 times lower but it is 4 times less liquid.

[-] mlatu@moist.catsweat.com 7 points 5 days ago

jesse, what the fuc are you talking about??

[-] NathanDerWeise@feddit.org 6 points 5 days ago

Nah, we'll do it by a metric we're much more familiar with - 2 liters.

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this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2026
198 points (92.7% liked)

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