22 of 30 - Jobs

   30 in 30 participant the illustrious whirled posted about previous jobs she's had, and then some others followed suit ... and now I'm gonna have a shake at it!


( I'll even LJ cut it )

22 of 30 - Grading Petroleum

   Here in the United States, gasoline is always sold as "Regular" "Mid-grade" and "Premium." It is always sold in increments of 10 cents -- back when Regular was $1.00 (/gallon), Midgrade would be $1.10 and Premium $1.20 (all prices plus 9 tenths of a cent actually because gas stations are sheisty like that). When Regular was $2.00, Mid would be $2.10 and Premium $2.20 ... and at present here Regular is $3.09*, Mid $3.19, and Premium $3.29.

* I believe that's 81 cents a liter.

   When Regular was a dollar, I'd have assumed Mid cost 10% more to produce/provide, and Premium 20% more, hence the price. This seems like a logical deduction to me. But by that logic, Premium should presently be $3.71, not $3.29. At the latter price it's now only 6% more expensive than Regular.

   So whats the deal with the different grades?

   And who buys the midgrade anyway? It would seem to me most people buy the Regular because it's cheapest and there's not generally believed to be a worthwhile difference. However, I know some people want the best of everything, so they'll buy the premium for their gold plated hummer H3s. But who thinks "I want a little better, but I'm only gonna go 3% better, 6% better is just gratuitous!" ?? It seems to me there'd be no market for the midgrade.

A typical little street in Zaragoza