I don't know how else to title this article. Seems quite simple and straightforward. This is my dilemma.

I'm not sure when, but over the years, the typical gas can has changed. I remember back in the day (as I write like someone who's old...I am), gas cans were simple. They were metal, and the spout was on the other side of the cap, inside the can and/or they had a long spout that you could bend for easy pouring.

Not now. Gas cans are made of plastic and they all have these so-called spill-proof spouts that make safer to pour gas into your lawn mower, vehicle, golf cart or whatever. Guess what? I own four of these spill proof gems, and all four leak through the cap and seal, no matter how hard it twist the cap closed. The spring loaded thingy in the spout won't release like it supposed to, and gas goes all over my lawn mower, the ground and on me. Fun times.

Why did they mess with the design? I looked it up and found lots of articles on the subject, including one from Dailykos.com  and Fee.org that came out a few years ago. Apparently from what I can decipher, this change came about because the lovely state of California (figures) decided to find a way to eliminate vapors and spills. Then of course, the US government and our EPA liked the idea and made all states adopt the idea.

Recently, I filled three gas cans. As I emptied each one, gas spilled on me and everything else around it. To say the least, I'm not happy about it. Does the same thing happen to you? To make it easier, although I don't recommend this, I took off the spout and poured the gas through a funnel into the lawn mower gas tank. Not the best ideas, either. If only I had kept those old metal gas cans.

via Dailykos.com and Fee.org

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