RSSLiquidity (Literally)
By Brad Zigler | September 02, 2008 | 1:23 PM | 0 Comments
We all, by now, should have apprehended the recent decline in the pump price of gasoline. In my neck of the woods, would you believe, petrol at $3.94 a gallon's considered a bargain. That only makes sense when you consider that just one month ago, folks in my burg were shelling out $4.21 a gallon (and a lot of epithets as well).
But how much have fuel prices really attenuated? I mean in practical terms. Is it cheaper to fill up at Shell or at Starbucks nowadays?
With a little inspiration from the zanies at Harvard's Institute of Improbable Research, I set out to the local grocery story to inventory the cost of other commonly purchased liquids.
This admittedly unscientific survey yielded some rather astonishing results, to wit:
|
Item |
Price |
Price per Gallon |
|
Regular Gasoline |
$3.94/ 1 gal. |
$3.94 |
|
Coca-Cola, 12-pack |
$5.99/ 144 fl. oz. |
$5.32 |
|
Lucerne Whole Milk |
$2.99/ 64 fl. oz. |
$5.98 |
|
Perrier Mineral Water |
$5.49/ 3 liters |
$6.93 |
|
TreeTop Apple Juice |
$4.19/ 64 fl. oz. |
$8.38 |
|
Budweiser Beer, 6-pack |
$6.49/ 72 fl. oz. |
$11.54 |
|
Joy Dish Detergent |
$2.99/ 30 fl. oz. |
$11.78 |
|
Minute Maid Orange Juice |
$5.99/ 64 fl. oz. |
$11.98 |
|
Tide Liquid Detergent |
$10.99/ 100 fl. oz. |
$14.07 |
|
Heinz Ketchup |
$2.69/ 24 fl. oz. |
$14.35 |
|
Windex Window Cleaner |
$3.99/ 32.5 fl. oz. |
$15.71 |
|
Starbucks Frappuccino |
$2.49/ 13.7 fl. oz. |
$23.26 |
|
Red Bull Energy Drink |
$2.89/ 12 fl. oz. |
$30.83 |
|
Pert Plus Shampoo |
$6.19/ 25.4 fl. oz. |
$31.19 |
|
Listerine Mouthwash |
$4.99/ 500 ml. |
$37.78 |
|
A-1 Steak Sauce |
$5.96/ 10 fl. oz. |
$76.29 |
|
Vicks Nyquil |
$6.49/ 10 fl. oz. |
$83.07 |
Turns out, no matter what aisle I trudge down, the liquids on the shelf are all more expensive than the fuel dispensed outside. No matter how much you might detest the oil companies for ratcheting up gasoline prices, there are lots of other folk that probably deserve more opprobrium.
Think about this, Red Bull drinkers: Your afternoon energy boost costs you a 148-mile adventure in your Acura RL. And who'd have thought Vicks Nyquil carried the energy equivalence of a 334-mile sojourn in a Ford Explorer?
As for me, well, my college kid goes through A-1 Steak Sauce like it was ... well, heck. Like it was 329 miles of cruisin' in my pickup. Hey, kid ... we gotta talk.
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