Sunday Travel Funnies: "OUCH!"by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 01 Jul 2007 06:36 PM Talk about feeling the pain at the pump... Well, not quite the gas pump, but the gas tank. That's where an Alabama driver recently got his finger caught when he was trying to clear gunk from the opening of his gas tank. According to police reports, Dwight Clark says he was innocently trying to clean his truck's gas tank when his finger went in past the knuckle and got lodged in the tank. According to rescue personnel, people had sprayed WD40 all over his hand, but that didn't work. Now, here's the part that gets me-Clark reportedly didn't want rescue workers to damage his truck so he refused to allow them to cut the tank to free his finger. For crying out loud, your finger is stuck in your gas tank, let the professionals do their job. Who cares about the truck? Anyway, as it turned out crews eventually had to cut the metal. "We started with a Sawzall, but the vibrations made it too painful for him," emergency personnel told news reporters. "Then we used tin snips to finish it." Firefighters say it took them almost a half-hour to get the fuel valve out, with Clark still stuck. He was then taken to a local hospital, where doctors were able to free his finger. OUCH! Let that be a lesson to all you clean freaks who can't stand seeing gunk on the rim of your gas tanks. Cab drivers in China are probably too busy to keep an eye on the cleanliness of their gas tanks. They're too busy getting used to not having horns to blow. According to news reports, taxi drivers in China are banned from honking their horns in busy Shanghai. Instead, the government has mandated they switch to music or voice recordings to make themselves heard. The recent ban comes with fines for those who do not comply. The average ticket runs about $15. And, not even police cars are exempt. According to officials, sirens are banned in all but emergencies. So where does that leave drivers who feel the need to express themselves? Customized recordings. According to news reports, some cab drivers are spending up to $100 for customized horns that play music or "speak" when pressed. One taxi driver reportedly had his horn rigged to play this message: "Please mind the car, we are making a turn." The new rules were put into place because street noise is a major issue in Shanghai, where much of the 20 million people who live there are packed into 19th century tenement housing and the decibel levels have reached danger zones. OUCH! Related Articles: Sunday Travel Funnies: Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road? Sunday Travel Funnies- "Don't Worry, It's ONLY A Safety Problem." Sunday Travel Funnies--Not Everyone Is Smiling Sunday Travel Funnies--So Weird You Have To Laugh Sunday Travel Funnies: Snakes, Shoes, and Swiss Cheese Sunday Travel Funnies-MapQuest: Not All It's Cracked Up To Be "You're No Sanjaya! You Have To Board Like Everyone Else." Sunday Travel Funnies-Not So Funny After All Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags china, fuel, gas tank, Travel, taxi Discuss this article
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