It sure is nice this summer compared to last summer. Oh, you remember last summer, although you probably would like to forget it.

Everything shut down. No one going anywhere. Staying home, peering out the window wondering it would be safe to go back to work, back to school, back to normal life.

Well, kiss that all goodbye, it's in the rearview mirror and it's time to 'get back to it'. Get out and around, do a little traveling. Gas up that vehicle and take a road trip!

Get our free mobile app

We did just that over the weekend, took a little drive. Decided to around. We went back over my old stomping grounds, take a big trip, just over to Luverne, motor down to Kenneth and Leota, back through Edgerton, just lazily getting out. We pulled into a local gas station (or convenience store if you prefer the term) to fill up the ol' Malibu. Gas prices around the area pretty much ranged from about $2.84 to $2.99 a gallon.

Except no, that wasn't right. Actually, they ranged from $2.84 9/10 to $2.99 9/10.

So...where did that nine/tenths come from?

Blame the government.

It was back in 1932 the federal government passed something called the Revenue Tax Act. Basically, it was a one/tenth of one-cent tax on gas. You see, they didn't dare raise the tax on gas an entire penny when, at the time, gas was about 15 cents a gallon. Anyway, gas station owners at the time passed that tax onto consumers.

Through the years that "fraction of a penny" tax increased (shocking, I know) and it was in the late 1960's/early 1970s that it hit 9/10th's.

Of course, there's a little psychology involved too. Doesn't $2.99 9/10 sound cheaper than $3.00 a gallon? Yep. Kind of like that chair for $299.00 seems a lot less than $300. contributed to this article 

Restaurants That Are Dog Friendly In Sioux Falls