A device that many of us line up to use every few days or weeks was first unveiled on this date in 1885 — the gas pump. Sylvanus Bowser of Fort Wayne, Indiana made the pump for a customer to dispense fuel for lamps and stoves. As one might expect, the advent of automobiles spurred the development, popularity and distribution of the gas pump. Eventually, the inventor’s name became a generic term for a fuel dispenser, and gas pumps in New Zealand and Australia are still called “Bowsers.” Across the U.S., there are nearly 129,000 gas stations. Each year, the pumps at these stations dispense more than 131 billion gallons of gasoline. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the new America’s Economy mobile application at <www.census.gov/mobile>.