The Straight Dope: What’s with the weird fluctuations in gas prices?

[View this message as a web page]( [The Straight Dope]( 09/08/2017 Dear Cecil: Why are increases in gas prices often so abrupt and large, while decreases are small and incremental? Where I live, we've had two six- to ten-cent increases in the last two weeks, all happening on one day. But earlier this summer, I'd note one- to two-cent drops once every day or three at just about every local station. And why, during these increases, are the stations often in lockstep, yet when they’re falling they get pretty far out of whack with each other? — John DiFool, via the Straight Dope Message Board Cecil replies: Here’s a question where the most obvious answer, and the most cynical, is pretty much the correct one. Say you’re a gas station operator, John. If you’re seeing crude oil costs rise, you’ll want to promptly adjust the prices you charge at the pump to make sure your margin is secure. Seeing crude fall? Hey, no need to be hasty; if your prices take a little while to float back down, well, that’s money in your pocket. For more, see: [( STRAIGHT DOPE STAFF REPORT — 09/23/1999 Dear Straight Dope: Why can't chickens fly? — S62451 SDStaff Dex replies: The following comes from our resident veterinary expert, DrMat: Well, you can't blame the chickens. They started out flying, after all. At least their ancestors did. The ancestor of modern chickens, the wild red jungle fowl (also a darn good name for a rock band), wasn't a great flier, but he could get around when he had to. The entire poultry family (chickens, turkeys, guineas, ducks) are adapted to living on the ground. Their beaks are better adapted to pecking off the ground, their feet to walking instead of perching, and their wings are smaller than other birds their size. Enter us. For more, see: [( STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC — 01/21/2005 Dear Cecil: I'm a runner, and I'm always having to take grief from people (especially my wife) who happily point out that you'll get the same benefit walking three miles as you will running the same distance, and you won't risk crippling arthritis of all your major body parts. So the other day I had a flash! Going back to high school auto mechanics and some hot-rod magazines, I explained to my wife that since I'm exerting the same force to move the same mass the same distance, I'm doing the same amount of work — but since I'm doing it twice as fast, I'm exerting two times the power and probably using twice the calories. My wife is pretty bright, though: she pointed out that if I run and exert twice the power in half the time, and then sit on my butt desperately trying to catch my breath for the other half of the time, then average power exerted is a wash. Is she right? Does running have any calorie advantage over walking, or am I really being that dumb (not like it would be the first time)? — Peter Prout, Winchester, Virginia Cecil replies: A complicated question, often answered wrong even by those who ought to know. We'll take it by steps … For more, see: [( YOUR AD HERE! Your direct line to thousands of the smartest, hippest people on the planet, plus a few total dipsticks. For rates and details contact Rich at [rhummel@suntimes.com](. Copyright © 2017 Sun-Times Media, LLC. This email was sent by The Straight Dope, Sun-Times Media, LLC., 350 N. Orleans, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654 [Unsubscribe/update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To change or update your newsletter subscription preferences, or to unsubscribe from all Chicago Reader and Straight Dope newsletters and promotional communications, [click here](. Please allow 72 hours for this change to take effect.