Promotion With 1959 Prices Causes Long Lines in LA

A city-wide promotion in Los Angeles for a popular Amazon television series caused chaos when drivers lined up for hours to cash in on 1950s gas prices, the AP reports. Amazon partnered with nearly 30 businesses to roll back prices Thursday in honor of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which is set in the '50s, as part of an Emmy Awards campaign. Police had to shut down a 30-cents-per-gallon promotion at a Chevron gas station in Santa Monica after eager customers lining up caused traffic delays at the nearby westbound Santa Monica Freeway for hours. One motorist took to Twitter to complain, saying it would have been a better idea "if we had the same number of cars on the road as in the '50s."

There were other Maisel Day deals at 1959 prices across the area: 59 cents bought a Pink's hot dog, admission to the Bay Theatre was 51 cents, and a one-night stay at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel went for $40, per the Hollywood Reporter. Demand overwhelmed supplies at various stores, which sold out of their deals early. There was a three-hour wait for Bellacures' $2 manicure, and McConnell's customers waited 45 minutes for a 25-cent scoop. Tweets also noted the folly of running the car while waiting for gas and failing to get it anyway. The gas station lines may have evoked memories that were more 1973, as remembered by NPR, than 1959.

(More gasoline prices stories.)