$3.84 a gallon.

Three-eighty-FOUR! For one lousy gallon, one milk jug’s worth of gasoline.

The cost of a fill-up? Don’t even get us started.

Whose fault is it?

Keystone. China. Obama. PolitiFact has heard it all. Since the beginning of this year, we’ve checked more than a dozen statements and ads about gas prices. In most every case, we’ve found politicians oversimplifying their attacks, or just plain getting the facts wrong.

Did you hear the one about the single-day gas protest in 1997 that forced prices down overnight?

Well, it never happened.

In reality, the price of gas is determined by a litany of complex and shifting factors (Brent derivatives, anyone?), few of which you’ll hear mentioned in :30-second political ads.