You notice something funny about the signs at gas stations lately?
And by lately I mean like the past year or two. Maybe three, I’ve certainly noticed this for quite a while.
The eights are upside down.
When I was a kid I was taught that a eight is drawn as two circles one on top of the other, and the one on the top is the same size or a little smaller.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_(number)
But if you look at any eights that are posted on gas station signs, either on the pump or on the big billboards, more often than not, the eights are upside down.
One? An accident. Two? Two accidents, but MOST of them are upside down. So either they’re all learning the wrong thing from each other, or there’s a conspiracy.
I think the conspiracy is more interesting. But what could it be? “This gas station permits the disposal of used motor oil.” Somehow I doubt that’s it.
And what if there’s no eight in the price, then you couldn’t reliably communicate your intentions (Whatever the meaning of the upside down eight is) unless the price had an eight in it. Unless…. THEY’RE PRICE FIXING so that there will be an eight in the price.
What are we in for that we don’t know because we can’t decipher the meaning of the upside down eights?