This month, Nelda Lowery was at a Speedway gas station in south-central Kentucky when a piece of white “something” caught her eye. She was about to put the fuel nozzle in her parked car but spotted the unusual color, giving her pause. Concerned for other drivers, she posted a video of the pump and recalled her exchange with the attendant on TikTok.

“I just got really lucky…”

Nelda explains that when she pulled the nozzle out of its housing, she noticed something at the end of it. So, she looked closer. Then, she pulled on it. Someone shoved a white towel all the into the fuel nozzle.

She decided to go inside and report the incident. The gas station attendant told her that “people are starting to do that,” but that “no one knows why.”

Of course, the comments rolled in with ideas and suggestions.

One explained that the towel stops the pump from ending a session. This allows thieves to pump more gas after the driver leaves unknowingly. I’m unsure of the mechanics of that one.

A commenter also thinks a theft ring is at play. In theory, a group puts a towel in a gas station nozzle, hoping the object will travel to an unsuspecting customer’s fuel tank and disable the vehicle. I’m not sure what would happen next there, either. Indeed, even a broken-apart paper towel can wreak havoc on a fuel system. Years ago, a VW owner found bits of one in his fuel tank and wrote about the laborious fix on TDI Club. After the car became hard to start, he had to drop and clean the fuel tank, replace the filter, and clear the fuel lines.

Another noticed an unmarked white van parked off to the side that seemed “suspicious.” Some suggested a “drugged kidnapping” attempt, even. Others shared known gas station risks, like credit card theft.

In any case, the incident is indeed alarming and many posted that they’ll start checking gas station fuel nozzles before pumping.