Fungible. Days, even weeks (though not months), go by and I don't think of the word, much less use it. And yet it just popped into mind.

A few weeks ago America's first Terror-Free Oil filling station opened up. The station buys its gas from Sinclair Oil, which gets most of its petroleum from countries outside the Mid-East. Why? So the station can tell its customers that they wouldn't be supporting terrorism when they buy their gas.

My first reaction? Not my business. Of course businessmen strive for a USP, that is, a Unique Selling Proposition. If customers really want to buy their fuel from non-Mid-East sources, that's great.

Trouble is, though, gas is fungible. Interchangeable. One gallon of gas is the same as the next, and even the station's supplier can't guarantee that all of its supply is Mid-East Oil-Free.

Further, it's a stretch to call all Mid-East oil somehow tied to terrorism. A barrel may hail from Kuwait, or Iran, or Iraq, or Saudi Arabia; Some of these oil producers — even fine, upstanding U.S. allies — have supported terrorists. Others haven't. And others (I bet most) don't now.

But, hey, in value-heavy matters like this, as in marketing, making clear distinctions ain't easy.

I've a prediction: if this catches on, we'll be seeing a lot of fungible Mid-East Oil being snuck into the allegedly Terror-Free gasoline supply. The temptation would be too great.

After all, it's a world market, and one gallon is pretty much the same as another.

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