Panic! at the Citgo

Here’s one for the social scientists out there: can reality be molded by those who don’t understand reality. The answer is apparently yes, since unfounded panic about gas shortages in Nashville, Tennessee (as opposed to, say, Nashville, Iowa?) actually caused a real-live gas shortage on Friday. Apropos of nothing save maybe the crumbling U.S. economy and a general paranoia over the impending box office arrival of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, rumors began flying around the home of America’s worst music that gas stations would soon be running out of sweet, sweet petrol. And due to the onslaught of gas-hungry customers, those stations did indeed begin running out of sweet, sweet petrol. This phenomenon is similar to the desired results of Crowlean Chaos Magick—that is, focusing on a desired reality and wearing tacky rings can actually reshape the world in your desired image. The only difference here is that the engineered change wasn’t the result of non-existent mystical forces but was instead the result of rampant, knee-quivering ignorance. More details here.