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Big Oil RIPS YOU OFF — via Unfair Mathematics

2009-02-22 · letter vlog · John · 2:37 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Economics · mode: Comedy & performance · tags: civic or action cta

In a mock exposé John argues that 'unfair' traditional rounding (five ninths up) lets oil companies overcharge a penny on 5% of US gasoline purchases, prefers Dutch rounding, and writes to Exxon for his eight cents.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting; claim of evidence that oil companies rip you off; gas still cheaper than Fierce Grape Gatorade

  • ★★★ John claims to present unassailable evidence that oil companies rip people off through the 'evil magic of demon mathematics'. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John says for the record that oil companies ripping people off does not mean gas is too expensive. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Even at the height of the 2008 oil bubble, a gallon of gasoline cost less than a gallon of Fierce Grape Gatorade, which John finds odd given the work of extracting and refining oil. (playful) — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — Rounding: Ms. Fink's rule rounds up five ninths of the time; Dutch rounding; oil companies' extra penny on 5% of purchases; Lincoln quote twisted

  • ★★★ Traditional rounding (one to four down, five to nine up) rounds down four ninths of the time and up five ninths of the time, John says. (playful) — 00:00:58
    • check: four ninths — doubtful
    • check: five ninths — doubtful
  • ★★ A fair system, Dutch rounding, rounds one to four down, six to nine up, and five up or down based on the surrounding numbers. — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ Oil companies use the rounding that gets them an extra penny one twentieth of the time: 5% of American gasoline purchases are charged an extra penny. (playful) — 00:01:27
    • check: one twentieth of the time — doubtful
    • a number in question (doubtful): "5%" — check against the recording
  • ★★ John says a weekly buyer's yearly loss is not two and a half pennies but, per the oil companies, three, and in total millions of dollars every year. (playful) — 00:01:27
    • check: three pennies — doubtful
    • check: millions of dollars — doubtful
  • ★★ John adapts the Lincoln line about fooling people: when it comes to math you can fool all the people all the time. (playful) — 00:01:27

00:01:56 — Why Mathematics Matters; Exxon owes John eight cents, letter sent; fake Wikipedia etymology of Dutch rounding

  • ★★ Though he has not owned a car for much of his adult life, John calculates Exxon owes him about eight pennies and has written asking for his eight cents back. (playful) — 00:01:56
  • ★★ John says he will let Hank know how the Exxon letter goes. (playful) — 00:01:56
  • ★ John calls the video this week's (week of 16 February 2009) installment of 'Why Mathematics Matters'. (playful) — 00:01:56

In the description and comments

  • ★ John's letter to Exxon tallies his losses over the last two years at about eight cents from Exxon and two cents from Shell, and asks Exxon to send him his eight cents. (playful) — video description

Humor (dominant)

  • Oil must be mined, shipped, refined and trucked, yet gasoline is cheaper than Fierce Grape Gatorade. — 00:00:29

    “to produce fierce grape Gatorade, I believe all you have to do is milk purple alligators”

  • John quotes Lincoln: you can't fool all the people all the time. — 00:01:56

    “Unless it's a question of math, then you can, in fact, fool all the people all the time.”

  • John reads Wikipedia's supposed origin of the term Dutch rounding from the Dutch Golden Age's opulent feasts. — 00:02:25

    “feasts where many prominent Dutchmen grew round”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Abraham Lincoln · Dutch Golden Age · ExxonMobil · Gatorade · rounding · Rounding half to even · Wikipedia

Only in the description or credits: Shell

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