A Penny Shaved is a Penny Earned!

Maybe it wasn't Ben Franklin who said this, but it sure is true! Especially at the gas pump!

I wonder what happens if you wish to buy one gallon of gas. I don't understand where they came up with that 'point nine cents' thing.

Based on 500 gallons per year (average consumption?) that's an extra $4.50 we spend in money that is non-tangible and cannot be recouped. After all, how am I supposed to ask for change?

Gas companies reaped about $150,000,000 in extra profits in 2007 because of this extra almost-a-penny. Don't we pay enough already?

In the early days of U.S. coinage, 'fractional currency' was issued, in addition to half-cents, two- and three-cent pieces, and twenty-cent pieces. But no 0.9-cent pieces.

I hear it would be illegal for me to remove a 36-degree wedge from a few pennies in order to be able to make change for a gallon, and that would be quite difficult to manage for multiple gallon purchases. Two gallons at say $0.999 would cost 1.998, so I would need a point-eight-cent coin too.

And a point-seven-cent, and a point-six, and...

How is it possible that a nation's products or commodities can be priced in such a manner as to be impossible to pay for using standard monetary values in that country?