Wacky Wednesday

There are quite a few "wacky" things we have found since moving to Oregon.... so I'll see how many Wednesdays I can make it with writing about them.  A big one is the law that says you cannot pump your own gas here.  Which probably contributes to gas prices being well over $3/gallon.

I got this from Wikipedia.... obviously the best source of information on such a topic.

All stations in New Jersey and Oregon offer only full service and mini service; attendantsare required to pump gas because customers are barred by statutes in both states from pumping their own gas. New Jersey banned self-service gasoline in 1949 after lobbying by service station owners. Proponents of the ban cite safety and jobs as reasons to keep the ban.^[12] Likewise, the Oregon statute banning self-service gasoline lists seventeen different justifications, including the flammability of gas, the risk of crime from customers leaving their car, the toxic fumes emitted by gasoline, and the jobs created by requiring mini service.^[13] In addition, the ban on self-service gasoline is seen as part of Oregonian culture. One commentator noted, “The joke is when babies are born in Oregon, the doctor slaps their bottom, ‘No self-serve and no sales tax’ [. . .] It’s as much a cultural issue as an economic issue. It’s a way of life.”^[14] In 1982, Oregon voters rejected a ballot measure sponsored by the service station owners, which would have legalized self-service gas.^[15]

The town of Huntington, New York bans gasoline self-service to save jobs. The ban went in effect in the early 1970s during a recession.

The constitutionality of the self-service bans has been disputed. The Oregon statute was brought into court in 1989 by ARCO, and the New Jersey statute was challenged in court in 1950 by a small independent service station, Rein Motors. Both failed. New Jersey governor Jon Corzine sought to lift the ban on self service for New Jersey. He asserted that it would be able to lower gas prices, but some New Jerseyans have argued that it can cause drawbacks, especially unemployment.

In New Jersey and Oregon, it is legal for customers to pump their own diesel (although not every station permits diesel customers to do so; truck stops typically do).^{[citation needed]} In Oregon, "certain nonretail" customers may also pump their own fuel.^[16]