Dear John,
Wikipedia (at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tun_(unit) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_units
) gives a definition of the English word, tun, as:
The tun is an old English unit of wine cask volume, holding about 954
litres, almost a cubic metre.
This fits with an old, albeit unsupported, memory of mine that a tun
in Olde Englande was a cubic box with all dimensions, length, width,
and height, of 1007 millimetres that was used to hold the grain supply
for a family for a year. The theory was that you did not reduce the
level by more than a hand's width (100 millimetres) each of 10 months
before the next spring arrived after last harvest time. This gives a
tun of 1021 litres. Unfortunately I don't know the source of this
reference; I suspect that I acquired it during the 1970s when
Australia upgraded to the metric system.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Geelong, Australia
On 2009/04/27, at 6:49 AM, John M. Steele wrote:
When in doubt, use a better dictionary. :) Using Rowlett's
dictionary of measurement units:
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictM.html
millier
a former name for the tonne or metric ton. This name, obsolete now,
was used in Britain to avoid confusion with the British long ton.
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictT.html
tonneau
the traditional French ton, equal to 2000 livres or about 979
kilograms (1.079 U.S. ton). The tonneau was also used as a measure
of volume equal to 42 cubic pieds (50.84 cubic feet, or about 1440
liters). In the wine trade, the tonneau was a shipment of 100 cases,
or 1200 bottles (about 900 liters of wine).
Of course, this still fails to explain how it became a soft cover
over part of a vehicle. But apparently, it was a traditional (non-
metric) French ton before it was 1000 kg.
--- On Sun, 4/26/09, John M. Steele <[email protected]>
wrote:
From: John M. Steele <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [USMA:44875] RE: Metric Act of 1866, was IEEE/ASTM SI-10
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009, 4:38 PM
Yes. Here it used mostly as a term for a soft cover over the bed of
a pickup truck. But it clearly doesn't weigh a tonne.
I can shed no light on the term. I'm as puzzled as anyone. My
dictionary has no measurement-related definition for tonneau or
anything at all for millier.
--- On Sun, 4/26/09, Stephen Humphreys <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Stephen Humphreys <[email protected]>
Subject: [USMA:44875] RE: Metric Act of 1866, was IEEE/ASTM SI-10
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009, 4:12 PM
It's actually amazing what you learn on this list from time to time
(apart from how methods of measuring things can take over some
people and make them personally aggressive that is!)
As a car enthusiast - which is a very expensive hobby unfortunately
- the term 'tonneau' is used to describe a soft top for cabriolet
(drop head) cars to cover over the 'living quarters' (so to speak)
in order to protect the cockpit from rain - usually as a temporary
measure (ie to quickly protect against a shower).
I wonder how the term came about and why it appears to have been
adopted from a metric measure? Currently I'm looking for one for
our latest metal addition to the family (a Triumph Stag).
Steve
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:22:43 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: [USMA:44874] Metric Act of 1866, was IEEE/ASTM SI-10
To: [email protected]
Pat,
The USMA laws page includes the Metric Act of 1866. It has been
amended to remove invalid conversion tables, but the history section
at the bottom has scans of the actual bill and tables.
We were using meter, liter and deka- at the time. However, the
metric ton (1000 kg) is described with two terms, tonneau and
millier, I assume "everyone" later simplified tonneau to tonne, and
the other died out.
However, both sets of spelling have been used. The Mendenhall Order
of 1893 (found on same page) uses metre, litre, and even gramme.
Also on the same page, U. S. Grant's report to Congress on the
Treaty of the Meter uses "meter" but it is only a US report, not the
original.
Finally, the Upton report of 1878 seems to indicate that the
original spellings of "are" and "stere" (cubic meter) omitted the
final "e", although the Metric Act of 1866 shows a final "e" in both
cases.
These are just data points. I've never seen anything that would
represent a scholarly tracking of the situation.
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Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
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