A few months ago, we took a look at the oil to gold relationship. The two have no obvious physical relationship: one being the industrial lifeblood of the world, as well as a financial proxy, and another a minimally important commercial product but one as a historical barometer of inflation and fear.
Most of the jokes and web links flying around the Internet about high gasoline prices are pretty predictable. As a result, they are not particularly funny.
But the embedded picture in this one, I must admit, made me laugh.
...or maybe a cry.
Our friends at Slate have compiled editorial cartoons from around the world on the topic of oil.
The only way a cartoonist can be successful is if the cartoonist has a deep grasp of the complexity of an issue, and then take all of that complexity and reduce it to utter simplicity. The Barrel remembers hearing the late legendary cartoonist Jeff MacNelly say that he read hours and hours each day in order to draw one cartoon. (And MacNelly was one of the best, ever).
So what's interesting about these cartoons is the number of times that refinery problems keep coming up. It's clear from the best cartoons that the artists are well familiar with what went on in the refining sector these past few months. They then take that deep knowledge and make it simple, in some cases, too simple. You'll see for yourself.
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