Today's funnish freebie

Last week when at a local c-store, I took a few pics of the little kitty family that lives there.

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/290222-c-store-kitties

While reviewing the pics for the showing, I noticed something else -- in pic #1 there, still hanging offa the side of the building in its holder pipe, a *stick*. (and for that matter, the now unused bank of electrical fittings also there poking up outta the ground) ALL of these things remnants of now *long* gone gas pumps/ tanks, at least the pumps have been gone for decades at this particular store.

SO TODAY, on another visit to buy something I also went around the corner to see if the kitties were there, (only momma and one baby, both still understandably skittish) saw the stick again, went back inside, and asked an employee/owner person if I could have it. His response: "I don't know why not, if you want it"...? ;-) :-) :-)

It IS, if y'all haven't figured out already, an old 'dipstick' that'd be stuck down the filler hole in the parking lot for the underground gasoline tanks that fed the pumps, so the tanker-truck delivery dude could measure how much was already in there before he stuck his truck's hose in there to refill them. (and no doubt, to also measure how much more he left there when he was done) Nowadays of course, all that is probably somehow digitally monitored... <groan>

This one is 14' long and only the roughly half of it that was inside the 'holder tube' on the wall still retains its graduated markings -- its other end (which was hanging out in the weather for all those unused years) has long since lost all of that. (pic 3) There was actually another that was probably once very similar laying there on the ground underneath half buried, but it was on the ground and totally too distressed to be of any interest.

It is also (as many of y'all that follow me and my collections of cr*p already might guess) not the only one of these I have...now the 2nd in fact, the 1st is shorter and lives in a corner of the living room... <lolol>

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/244372-old-gasoline-station-underground-tank-d

This one's probably gonna end up in the carport...too big for anywhere in the house... ;-)