An error at a Palo Alto service station had local residents doing a double take Tuesday as the gas pumps were set at a per gallon price not seen in several decades.

The error at the pumps at the ARCO station at Middlefield and San Antonio read 37.5 cents a gallon instead of the going rate of $3.68 a gallon for regular unleaded.

Immediately, the station was full of patrons not only filling up their cars but also gas canisters.

“Whoever was here yesterday had some good luck,” said Nicole Tonfack, who drove up as the manager was scrambling to reset the prices on Wednesday morning as the station reopened for business. “I saw (on the pump) it was $1.86 for something like 5 gallons. I said – ‘I wonder what’s happening here?’”

Blake Edwards was filing up his truck early Wednesday at the new price of $3.75 a gallon when he heard about Tuesday’s error.

“Too bad I didn’t get a text or a call,” he said. “It would have been a party.”