Now You See It, Now You Don't!

TellZall's object for June is Full Service Gas Stations.

As automobiles became more popular in the early twentieth century, the need for gas stations, also know as filling stations, emerged. Standard Oil of California opened the first gas station in 1907. Early filling stations were usually full service gas stations, which meant that the customer pulled up to the gas pump, paid the attendant, and waited while the attendant pumped the gasoline. The gas station employee often cleaned the automobile windows as well. Full service gas stations also offered other services, such as inflating tires, changing the oil, and making automobile repairs. This arrangement was very convenient for the driver, who did not have to get out of his or her car to pump gasoline.

By the mid-twentieth century, more and more self service stations opened, where drivers pumped their own gasoline. Station owners discovered that it cost their businesses more money to pay attendants to pump gas rather than to allow customers to pump it themselves. For many years, gas stations commonly offered both options to their customers. If a driver was willing to pay a few pennies more per gallon, he or she could have an attendant pump the gasoline. If customers wanted the cheaper price, they pulled up to the self-service pumps and pumped their own gas. Pumping gas was not really considered to be ladylike and, as a result, many women still chose to have the attendant pump the gas for them. Women did not want to have the smell of gasoline on their hands.

In the 1970s and 1980s, many companies began phasing out their full service pumps. Stations found that they were not really making more money from offering full service, and many owners determined that adding convenience stores on their properties, with employees located at cash registers inside, would increase their profits. As a result, in many states, it has become very difficult to find gas stations that still offer full service. In states like Ohio, most drivers have no choice but to pump their own gasoline.

The full service gas station has not disappeared in all states though. Some states, such as New Jersey and Oregon, passed laws in the 1940s that prohibited customers from pumping their own gas. Lawmakers were concerned about the dangers of handling gasoline, and felt that drivers would not necessarily be careful enough in pumping their own gas. Of course, gasoline is highly flammable. If a customer was smoking a cigarette while pumping gas, there was the chance that a spark could cause a dangerous explosion. In addition, cell phones also pose a danger at the pumps, because they too can cause sparks. Gas station pumps are much safer today, reducing the hazard of fires or explosions. In spite of these improvements, the states of New Jersey and Oregon still mandate full service gas stations today.