Willem van de Velde the Younger, Dutch ships in a calm. Public domain.
In 1973 oil producers cut off supply and the price of a barrel roughly quadrupled.
If money is tight, the embargo is the gallon, the bus fare, and the heat bill.
If you are in the middle, a commute you could afford in September costs a different life by winter.
If you have savings, oil stocks may rise and everything else you buy still costs more to move.
After the October 1973 war, Arab oil producers embargoed the United States and cut output.
The posted price of oil roughly quadrupled into early 1974.
Lines at gas stations were the household version of a geopolitical decision.
Source: US State Department and Energy Department histories of the 1973 oil embargo.