Facts Versus Opinions: It’s Life Or Death

(My dad and I are out running errands when we pull into a gas station to fill up. A young couple pulls up nearby and I overhear their conversation. The guy gets out of the running car to pump gas, then the girl leans over and turns the engine off.)

Guy: “Hey, why’d you turn it off?”

Girl: “You aren’t supposed to run the engine while you pump gas.”

Guy: “What? Why not?”

Girl: “I don’t know; those are the rules.”

(They go back and forth for a bit so I decide to intervene.)

Me: “Engines run on combustion. Putting gas in a tank that’s running could cause a fire.”

Girl: “See?”

Guy: *skeptical* “Well, people can believe what they want to believe, but we’ll do it your way.”