# Perpendicular Fueling
Perpendicular Fueling is a TikTok trend where drivers back their car up to a gas pump and fill the tank with the trunk facing the nozzle instead of the side. A 2014 Instagram photo documented the first known case, but the format took off in late September 2021 on TikTok and quickly spawned a wave of 'perpendicular' spin-offs covering benching, learning, grocery shopping and more.
## Origin
The first known case of perpendicular fueling showed up on Instagram on July 28, 2014, when user @oghoul posted a photo of himself filling his car with gas while parked at a right angle to the pump at a Monroeville GetGo. The Pittsburgh-area blog YaJagoff picked up the image the same day and ran it under the headline 'Perpendicular Pumper,' razzing the driver for mixing up parallel and perpendicular[1].
The TikTok version arrived more than seven years later. On September 23, 2021, @crunched.diff uploaded a video of his own perpendicular fueling attempt with a text-to-speech caption reading 'Screw it, perpendicular fueling'[2]. The clip pulled roughly 350,000 plays and 50,200 likes over the following month, setting the template that later TikTokers copied[3].
- **Platform:** Instagram (2014 precursor) / TikTok (viral spread)
- **Creator:** @crunched.diff
- **Date:** 2021
## Overview
The joke works through flat visual absurdity: a car parked at a right angle to the pump line with the fuel nozzle stretched across the rear bumper, usually set to a robotic text-to-speech voice announcing 'Screw it, perpendicular fueling'[2]. Early clips kept the gag car-based, with riffs like 'tangent fueling' and 'parallel fueling' from TikTokers like @theguyboss and @ericktion[3]. The humor hinges on treating a basic spatial mistake as if it were a bold lifestyle choice, delivered deadpan.
By mid-October 2021 the format jumped off the gas pump entirely. Users started applying 'perpendicular' to anything with an orientation: lifting weights, sitting at a school desk, parking a car sideways in a garage, buying groceries[3]. Each video follows the same template, with a TTS voice narrating the sideways activity. Screenshots of the clips bounced over to Twitter, where the orientation gag worked without the audio[10].
## How to Use
A typical Perpendicular Fueling video shows the creator doing an everyday activity rotated 90 degrees from how it is normally done, with a text-to-speech voiceover reading some variant of 'Screw it, perpendicular [activity].' The common convention is a deadpan single take, no setup, no punchline past the orientation itself. The 'perpendicular' part can swap for related geometry words like 'tangent' or 'parallel' when the creator wants to extend the bit[3].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Perpendicular Fueling?
It is a TikTok trend where someone backs their car up to a gas pump and fills the tank with the trunk facing the nozzle rather than the side, usually captioned with a text-to-speech voice saying 'Screw it, perpendicular fueling'[2].
### Where did Perpendicular Fueling come from?
The first known case is a July 28, 2014 Instagram photo from user @oghoul, written up on the Pittsburgh blog YaJagoff[1]. The TikTok trend started on September 23, 2021 with @crunched.diff's video[2].
### What does Perpendicular Fueling mean?
It is a deadpan absurdist joke that treats a basic parking mistake as if it were a deliberate style choice; the humor comes entirely from the sideways orientation and the robotic TTS caption announcing it[3].
### How do you use Perpendicular Fueling?
People film an everyday activity done at a 90-degree angle, like benching, learning or grocery shopping, with a TTS voiceover saying 'Screw it, perpendicular [activity]'[7][9].
### Is Perpendicular Fueling still popular?
The trend peaked in October 2021 with videos like @cloutyyy's 3.4-million-view clip[6] and @dr.wstn's 7.5-million-view 'Perpendicular Learning'[9]; after that burst it faded off the For You page.
## References
1. [https://www.yajagoff.com/perpendicular-pumper/]()
2. [https://www.tiktok.com/@crunched.diff/video/7011201063684443397]()
3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/perpendicular-fueling]()
4. [https://www.tiktok.com/@rafikimemez/video/7017906080021744901]()
5. [https://www.tiktok.com/@nick.bb2/video/7018830622063906053]()
6. [https://www.tiktok.com/@cloutyyy/video/7020209689958927621]()
7. [https://www.tiktok.com/@nickpedersen__/video/7021224489254112559]()
8. [https://www.tiktok.com/@timmyflutes23/video/7022357883698564357]()
9. [https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.wstn/video/7023089291475635461]()
10. [https://twitter.com/bigestaban/status/1453090823927734278]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/perpendicular-fueling
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