About

Taking My Girl Somewhere Expensive (The Gas Station) refers to a joke or prank done online where internet users tell their wife, girlfriend, fiance or partner that they're taking them out to an expensive dinner, when in reality, they just take them to the gas station, insisting that the gas prices there are expensive. The origin of the catchphrase and joke is unknown but traces of it can be found in tweets and image macros dating back to the early 2000s. The concept became increasingly popularized in early 2022 on TikTok where users brought their partners to gas stations amid the 2022 Russian Oil Ban and Gas Price Surge.

Origin

Relating a trip to the gas station as something expensive is most likely a joke that predates internet usage. However, evidence of its relevancy online can be traced as far back as late 2009 on Twitter. On October 27th, 2009, Twitter^[1] user SteveIsGreater tweeted, "Last night, my girl demanded that I take her some place expensive… so, I took her to a gas station. And then the fight started…," earning no likes after being posted (shown below, left). Another Twitter^[2] user, michaelharriot, posted a similar tweet in March 2010 that also ended with the phrase, "and then the fight started." His tweet also received no likes but shows a similarity in diction that alludes to a prior origin.

Additionally, an image macro became popularized in 2014 that captioned a picture of a gas station in Impact font with the catchphrase. The meme (shown below, right) can be accessed on a June 2014 blog.^[3] Its original origin is unknown.

Spread

Although the joke continued to surface on Twitter throughout the 2010s, it wasn't until 2021 and 2022 that the idea was used en masse on TikTok when TikTokers pulled pranks on their significant others, taking them to the gas station when promised "somewhere expensive." The first to do so on the platform was TikToker^[4] chrisandchenoa, whose video was posted on November 5th, 2021, and earned roughly 4.6 million plays and 308,200 likes over the course of four months (shown below, left). Later that month, on November 11th, TikToker^[5] thepasinis posted a video where he pranked his wife into going to the gas station, earning roughly 768,100 plays and 72,500 likes over the course of four months (shown below, right).

The trend continued into 2021 but was later inspired in large by the 2022 Russian Oil Ban and Gas Price Surge that occurred because of the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict. The event escalated in late February 2022 because of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. This resulted in U.S. President Joe Biden banning Russian oil imports.

In response, TikTokers resurfaced the "expensive gas station" joke en masse. For instance, on March 8th, 2022, verified TikToker^[6] alexandkellz blindfolded and brought his "Baby girl" to the gas station, earning roughly 1.4 million plays and 113,100 likes in three days (shown below, left). Screenshots of the TikToks within the trend started to surface on Twitter because of the virality. For instance, on March 10th, 2022, Twitter^[7] user OrwellNGoode tweeted a screenshot that earned roughly 16,200 likes in one day (shown below, right).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7072545605289266478

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References