A veterinarian friend of mine who worked in an emergency clinic told me of a $200 additional "Stupidity Fee" she added to a client's bill after the dog owner brought in his pet -- to an emergency room -- with a maggot-infested belly wound. The presence of the maggots of course indicated the "emergency" actually had occurred days before.

I see similar "ignorance fees" collected elsewhere when folks have no idea of where purchased goods originate, how they are marketed, or the process by which they arrived on store shelves.

For instance: I recently bought a 50 lb. sack of whole corn at a local farm supply outlet to stock a pre-season deer feeder (legal in Oklahoma). I paid $5.40 for my purchase, and as I walked out with the sack on my shoulder, I noticed "Deer Corn" for sale for $6.40 per 50 lb. sack! Darn! I realized then that camouflage-colored sack would have helped attract more deer … but I'd already bought the cheaper stuff.

In the spring, when big box stores and some farm-supply stores are peddling lawn and outdoor equipment, I notice "Lawn Mower Oil" for sale packaged in 28 oz. containers priced at least 50% higher than equivalent or higher-quality motor oils sold in quarts in the automotive area.

I know the NASCAR teams take advantage of every possible angle that can add more speed and control to their machines, but really now, does anyone not racing need pure nitrogen in their vehicle's tires? At $5 per tire, that's a lot of coin to spend for something that already makes up 79% of the atmosphere we've been pumping into tires for the last century.

What about those "tune up" specials franchise auto repair shops advertise? With modern fuel injection and solid state ignition, you can usually divide the number of cylinders of your vehicle into the price of the "tune up" then subtract a generous $2 per cylinder for the spark plug the shop will change and you'll see the "ignorance fee" being charged in this instance. "Tune ups" disappeared with carburetors and mechanical breaker points.

Will Rogers once said something along this line:  "We're all ignorant, only on different subjects." I've named a few places I see where the public gets whacked, (and I probably pay some ignorance fees of my own). Still, I'd like to know of others you might want to share. Leave your comments below.