It gets better (for computer geeks anyway)... the original English
liquid measure of a Tun was 2^8 gallons or 256 gallons, later lowered
(c15?) to 252 to make it more easily divisible by low integers
(2^2*3^2*7). This olde English Tun (252 gallons) weighs 2,240 lbs, a
Long or Imperial Ton. Later yet, the English (Imperial) Tun was
redefined to be 210 gallons (2*3*5*7).
The Butt is 1/2 of a Tun... The Imperial Butt being 105 gallons and the
US Butt left hanging at the odd 126 gallons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_wine_cask_units#Units
And according to Wikipedia, the Bushel is 8 gallons, the Seam is 8
bushels or 64 gallons suggesting that the Butt is roughly 2 Seams (not 6?).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_of_units#Volume
The use of butt-load seems to refer to yet another dry volume measure
(not weight nor liquid volume) but other than the anecdotal references
to "a butt load is about 6 seams", I don't find any support for this.
I can imagine that a "butt load" is approximately the 1/2 tun by weight
but of dry material like wheat and therefore somewhat larger?
That's the great thing about standards, we have so many to choose from!
- Steve
Rather nice, I think:
Quote: As we now know, the Oxford English Dictionary has a citation for "butt-load" as a
unit of measure equal to "about six seams", which amounts to roughly 450 gallons.
Once again brought to us by Twitter. The tweet pointed to:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=511287
-- Owen
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