Cheyenne Gas Station Wants to Know Why Everyone’s Buying Lighters

As late April is upon us in Cheyenne, the weather has started to become more seasonal and more and more people are looking to get out and about for some activities. But today specifically, it seems like everyone wants to go out and purchase lighters. A particular gas station in southeast Wyoming wants to know why that is.

What's the deal with lighters? According to Kum & Go, everyone seems to want to purchase lighters today and they have no idea why.

So why is it that people are purchasing lighters today? We thought we would take a look at some potential answers for this...

• It's the Cheapest Thing at the Gas Station. This is definitely true. Gas per gallon certainly isn't any cheaper than purchasing a lighter, which can comes in handy in several situations. Maybe you'll get to the gas station and see the price of gas and think, "I don't want to pay for that. Maybe I'll get a lighter." Because that's a rational thought.
• Are Scented Candle Sales Skyrocketing? No, not necessarily. In fact, scented candles are sold mostly during the holiday season. Unless of course, you have a surplus of candles, or you invested in Jan Levinson's 'Serenity by Jan' scented candle company, this probably isn't a feasible reason for a new lighter purchase.
• Burning Tax Documents? Tax Day was earlier this week and perhaps you had to navigate your way through physical tax documents that you're so sick of looking through and have no further need for them, so perhaps you want to burn them. Not so fast! If you get audited, you might need those for later. So that's not the reason.
• Gearing Up for 4th of July? No. That's two and a half months away. No one is lighting fireworks anytime for awhile. If you don't know that, then get a calendar that works.

So what's with all the lighter sales?

We're not dense. In case you haven't caught on to the joke by now, today is April 20th or '4/20'. It's likely that at some point in your lifetime, you have heard that 4/20 is associated with smoking marijuana.

According to Time Magazine, the origins of the 4/20 trace back to the year 1971. It was then that five students at San Rafael High School in Marin County, CA would gather at 4:20 p.m. everyday and would partake in such activities as smoking marijuana. Those activities, while under the influence typically lasted for several hours after that. But they often used '420' as code for marijuana as well.

Phil Reddix, one of the five students that originated this, would eventually get a job working with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh on the band's tour, as a roadie. This would help to popularize the slang term. It's amazing how something could spread like that during those times, given the fact that they didn't have the everyday use of the Internet as of yet.

But now you get the joke! People need lighters to use for 4/20. Also, if you haven't done so, give @kumandgo a follow on Twitter. They're quite hilarious. Also, for the record, marijuana is ILLEGAL in the Cowboy State. Happy 4/20, Wyoming!

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