GagBase Logo Explore

I just don't understand why Americans call petrol gas

This is an 8-panel meme edited from a scene of the animated show *SpongeBob SquarePants*, featuring the characters Man Ray and Patrick Star. Patrick is overlaid with a United States flag to represent American people. The joke follows Man Ray walking Patrick through a series of logical questions about motor fuel: he first confirms that gasoline is a liquid and a petroleum product, then points out that it logically should be shortened to 'petrol', but Patrick stubbornly rejects this conclusion and insists the fuel is called 'gas', mocking the linguistic difference between American English (which uses 'gas/gasoline' for motor fuel) and British/Commonwealth English (which uses 'petrol').
Make

Dialogue

This is a liquid, correct?
Yep
And it comes from what you call a "petroleum product", correct?
Yep
So logically, you'd shorten it to petrol?
That makes sense
And Gasoline is named after a lighting fluid, so call it petrol!
It's Gas

Text content

Joke about American English using 'gas' instead of the logically consistent 'petrol' for motor fuel

Overview

This is an 8-panel meme edited from a scene of the animated show SpongeBob SquarePants, featuring the characters Man Ray and Patrick Star. Patrick is overlaid with a United States flag to represent American people. The joke follows Man Ray walking Patrick through a series of logical questions about motor fuel: he first confirms that gasoline is a liquid and a petroleum product, then points out that it logically should be shortened to 'petrol', but Patrick stubbornly rejects this conclusion and insists the fuel is called 'gas', mocking the linguistic difference between American English (which uses 'gas/gasoline' for motor fuel) and British/Commonwealth English (which uses 'petrol').

Origin notes

This meme is a remix of the popular 'Man Ray teaches Patrick common sense' template from SpongeBob SquarePants. Per the provided source information, it was posted on Reddit under the original title 'I just don't understand it', as a lighthearted joke about naming differences between American and British English vocabulary for the same motor fuel product.

Similar memes

A two-panel meme utilizing screenshots from the 2019 film 'Joker'. The top panel features an older man (likely Murray Franklin, portrayed by Robert De Niro) with a serious expression, leaning forward and looking intently, accompanied by the text: 'Let me get this straight: You think car accident deaths are too normalized in America?'. The bottom panel shows Arthur Fleck/Joker (portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix) with a smirk and intense gaze, looking back over his shoulder, with the response: 'I do. and I'm tired of pretending it's not.' The meme uses the dramatic tension between the two characters to highlight the perceived normalization of car accident deaths in American society.

Car Accident Deaths Normalized in America Meme

A two-panel meme utilizing sc…

This is a 3-panel edited boardroom meme comparing relative gasoline (petrol) prices across different global regions, highlighting the unit discrepancy between litres (used in most countries) and gallons (used in the US). In the first panel, the representative for New Zealand/Australia angrily complains that $3.30 per litre of petrol is extremely expensive. In the second panel, the EU representative notes petrol prices in their region exceed €1.71 per litre, the China representative states ¥9.35 per litre is unreasonable, and the US representative dismisses all these complaints as overblown, claiming those prices are cheap compared to the US's $4 per gallon. The final panel shows the enraged NZ/AU representative throwing the US representative out of the office window, as $4 per gallon converts to roughly ~$1.06 per litre, which is drastically cheaper than all the other listed regional prices, making the US's lack of perspective on gas costs the punchline of the joke.

How I feel when I see Americans complaining about gas prices

This is a 3-panel edited boar…

This meme utilizes the widely recognized two-panel reaction template featuring Captain James T. Kirk from *Star Trek: The Animated Series*. At the top of the image, the text reads: *Gas prices go up after Iran is bombed*. The first panel depicts Kirk with an annoyed, frustrated expression, his hand resting on his cheek as he looks off to the side, conveying irritation at the news. The second panel shows Kirk with his hand covering his mouth, his expression shifting to exasperation, which aligns with the original meme title 'Well, Frick you, too!'—implying his frustrated, resigned reaction to the inevitable gas price hike following global conflict. The meme humorously taps into the common, relatable frustration people experience when geopolitical events lead to increased everyday costs like fuel.

Well, Frick you, too! (Gas Price Reaction Meme)

This meme utilizes the widely…

This two-panel meme uses characters from *The Simpsons* to satirize the cultural debate between the Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales. The top panel features Marge Simpson (with the UK flag over her face) displaying a shocked, confused expression, asking the question: "How does Fahrenheit make more sense than Celsius?" The bottom panel shows Homer Simpson (with the US flag over his face) looking frustrated and exasperated, gesturing with outstretched arms as he retorts: "The number gets higher the hotter it gets! Do I have to draw you a diagram?" The joke mocks the US's continued use of Fahrenheit by framing its defense as overly simplistic and dismissive of the metric-aligned Celsius system used in most countries, including the UK.

Fahrenheit vs Celsius: Simpsons Style Debate

This two-panel meme uses char…

This satirical meme features a red-toned scene of large, silhouetted giant figures marching forward (the Rumbling horde of Colossal Titans from the anime *Attack on Titan*) below bold black top text that reads "USA THE MOMENT THEY HEAR THERE'S OIL IN ANOTHER COUNTRY". The joke satirizes the widely circulated critical narrative that the United States regularly launches foreign military interventions with the underlying motivation of securing access to oil reserves in other sovereign nations, framing the US military as an overwhelming, destructive force that immediately mobilizes for invasion when oil is discovered abroad. A watermark reading "Fukka Edit" is present in the top right corner of the visual portion of the meme.

USA when they hear another country has oil meme

This satirical meme features …

This is a satirical political meme that jokes about the common perception that United States governments intervene in other regions to seize valuable natural resources like oil. The top text quotes people excited about discovering new oil reserves saying "OMG WE JUST FOUND OIL WE'RE GONNA BE RICH", followed by the label "the government:", and the accompanying image shows two United States soldiers with smug, scheming expressions, one placing a hand on the shoulder of an off-screen person in a threatening gesture, implying the government will immediately move to take control of the discovered oil resources.

Did somebody say oil?

This is a satirical political…

This meme first establishes a seemingly consistent logical pattern: three European sovereign states' governance classification directly corresponds to the title of their ruling monarch: the UK is a Kingdom ruled by a king, Luxembourg is a Duchy ruled by a duke, and Monaco is a Principality ruled by a prince. The pattern is abruptly broken by the line 'America is a Country', followed by the two-panel Awkward Look Monkey Puppet meme where the puppet first glances sideways, then looks away awkwardly. The humor comes from the unstated implied punchline: following the established pattern, the line would logically continue that America is ruled by a 'count', creating an absurd, awkward joke that also pokes fun at the US not fitting the European monarchy naming convention.

Flawless Logic

This meme first establishes a…

A meme in the 'Always has been' template featuring two astronauts in space. The left astronaut asks, 'You mean it was about oil and not drugs?' while the right astronaut, holding a gun, responds, 'Always has been...'. The backdrop shows Earth, emphasizing the global context of the joke about conspiracy theories regarding oil and drugs as motives for conflict.

Always Has Been... Oil vs Drugs

A meme in the 'Always has bee…

A 2x2 collage meme using screenshots from *Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace*. Top-left: Anakin Skywalker standing in grass with a neutral expression. Top-right: Padmé Amidala smiling with text overlay: "The war with Venezuela is about drugs right?". Bottom-left: Anakin with a knowing, serious gaze, labeled "USA" in a white box. Bottom-right: Padmé with a expectant expression, text overlay: "Right?". The meme sarcastically implies that claims the US war with Venezuela is about drugs are insincere, suggesting oil is the real motive.

Definitely it's not for the oil

A 2x2 collage meme using scre…

This multi-panel meme demonstrates the common misconception that Australia is much smaller than it actually is, compared to the contiguous United States. The top panel shows a political map of the contiguous US with a small inset map of Australia placed over the western US, captioned 'HOW BIG PEOPLE THINK AUSTRALIA IS'. The bottom section shows Australia's actual size: the bottom left overlays Australia (to real scale) over the entire contiguous US, showing Australia covers almost the entire area of the US mainland. The bottom right panel zooms in to reveal that all 48 contiguous US states fit entirely within Australia's borders, proving Australia is nearly the same size as the contiguous US, much larger than most people expect. The meme's title adds a joke referencing the popular stereotype that Australia is full of dangerous spiders.

It’s not the size that counts, it’s how many spiders you can fit!

This multi-panel meme demonst…

A meme that combines a news headline about the U.S. seizing a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela with an image of a person. The person has an American flag edited onto their head and two overlaid text captions: 'LOOK AT ME.' at the top and 'I'M THE PIRATE NOW' at the bottom. The meme uses sarcasm to portray the U.S. as a 'pirate' for seizing the oil tanker, commenting on international relations and the oil industry.

US Seizes Oil Tanker: 'I'm the Pirate Now' Meme

A meme that combines a news h…

A meme comparing the transatlantic definition of the word 'Chips'. The top of the image features the word 'Chips' in quotation marks. Below, two sections are labeled 'British:' and 'American:'. The British section shows a red container of French fries, while the American section displays a yellow bag of Lay's Classic potato chips. This meme humorously highlights the linguistic difference where 'chips' refers to French fries in British English and potato chips in American English.

British vs American Chips Definition Meme

A meme comparing the transatl…