Idk if this is the right instance for this, but how fucking tired of these forced ads at gas pumps is everyone else?

I’m paying 4 bucks a gallon to have you shove advertising down my throat like an erect cock?

What the actual fuck

Anyone have any good ad blocking practices for this?

I’ve seen duct or painters tape covering the speakers…

You can press a button next to the screen to mute it, but this doesn’t work at all gas stations. (Usually its the 2nd from the top on the right side)

I guess its just time to gettoblast music every time I pump gas like back when I was 19…

  • Dark ArcEnglish
    0•3 months ago

    There was a whole Mythbusters episode where they tried TONS of stuff to get a gas station to go up in flames (they couldn’t, not even smoking a cigarette – under near ideal conditions for an ignition of nearby vapors – per my recollection).

    So yeah, I’m sitting in my car (especially if it’s cold outside).

    “Static electricity” isn’t somehow more of a concern sitting in your car than standing outside one in a fuzzy jacket.

      • Dark ArcEnglish
        -1•3 months ago

        Hey look… a fuzzy sweater.

        I’m still getting in and out of my car. I get in, shut the door, get back out, and close the door. Plenty of metal touched. Sometimes gloves.

        Here’s another one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JMfxPooeybg

        Probably 1 in 10 million (and 2/2 videos where they didn’t shut the car door)… I’ll take that chance.

        Edit: also think about it, if this was a real problem with a high enough frequency they’d engineer the fuel handles to prevent it. Heck, maybe they already did (accidentally or intentionally) plenty of them increasingly have a ton of plastic.

        • NoSpiritAnimal
          0•3 months ago

          They do engineer the pumps to ground the static charge. That’s what can cause the arc.

          You discharge yourself the first time you touch the pump before you fill up.

          Getting back into the car defeats the purpose by then grounding you in the presence of fuel vapors, rather than before.

          • Dark ArcEnglish
            0•3 months ago

            What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. If you’re engineering something to prevent a spark from a static charge, you engineer it to prevent a spark from a static charge. You don’t engineer it to “ground you at first and then fail” if you pick up a static charge for some reason.

            EDIT: And there are a lot more ways to become statically charged than getting in and out of a car (which in a lot of cases isn’t going to give you a static charge anyways – e.g. leather seats on cotton clothes is extremely unlikely to generate a static charge).

            • NoSpiritAnimal
              0•3 months ago

              Yes, which is why the recommendation is to keep your hand on the handle while pumping or touch a metal part of your car prior to returning to the pump, and don’t get back into a car.

              I have a real life degree in automotive technology and engineering, and you saw a Mythbusters episode.

              We can keep doing this forever if you like, but you’re still very poorly informed on how safety is engineered into your vehicle fuel system and the mechanisms that support it.

              Here is some reading to help you, API recommended fuel procedures (if you’re not familiar with the API just read any gas pump or bottle of oil until you are): https://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas/consumer-information/consumer-resources/staying-safe-pump

              Most important, motorists should not get back into their vehicles during refueling. It may be a temptation to get back in the car for any number of reasons. But the average fill-up takes only two minutes, and staying outside the vehicle will greatly minimize the likelihood of any build-up of static electricity that could be discharged at the nozzle.

              • Dark ArcEnglish
                0•3 months ago

                I have a degree in computer science, I’ve worked on electrical engineering projects, my father is an electrician, I have a close friend and mentor that’s a forensic electrical engineer, etc.

                If y’all in the automotive space think this is a real problem, fix it. It is trivial to shield something from static electricity; TRIVIAL. Frankly it’s unacceptable it hasn’t been fixed if you’re so adamant there’s a serious risk to the public.

                This reads to me as an “ass covering” article for a very very very rare event. At 1/10,000,000 estimated probability I’d have to live thousands of lives at the rate I fill up my car to ever see this.

                I’m not going to worry about this more than I’m going to worry about winning the lottery or spontaneous combustion frankly; the probabilities do not warrant concern. Which I’m sure is the real reason nothing has been done here.

                  • Dark ArcEnglish
                    0•3 months ago

                    I question your ability as an engineer if you can’t understand how to shield something from static electricity. Hint: use non-conducive material to create an isolated ground that never makes contact with the gasoline, they’ve been doing it for all kinds of sensitive electronics for decades. This technique is also used to prevent your metal kitchen mixer from killing you if there’s a short.

                    Am I “the expert” in this domain? No. Do I have plenty of exposure to it and other engineering disciplines to make a judgement call on the facts; absolutely.

    • @JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
      2•3 months ago

      The concern (especially when it’s cold since that usually implies dry air) is that a buildup of static energy occurs when your body rubs up against your cars interior.

      This concern is usually a bit bigger for younger folks because they tend to not touch any metal parts of their car when getting up, which would discharge the energy while still a decent distance from the nozzle that’s leaking gas vapors.