2 firkins equals a kilderkin

[fluketamer]

when i was in college in the 90's i used to go to an irish pub across the street from Belview hospital that had the cutest wide eyed irish lass serving guiness. behind the bar she had an old cask that someone referred to as a firkin. the patron said something to the effect that a lot of small english pubs had beer served in firkins when he went over there.

she thought that was "firkin hilarious" and said exactly so.

i was today years old when i found out a firkin is half a kilderkin.

fun fact of the day.

some other odd units of measurement:

centimorgan - chromosomal distance
cubit - biblical measure of noahs ark
cord - for wood
click - in war movies they always say ten clicks to the east or whatever.
dog years - the time it takes me to clean the garage when the wife asks.
Scoville units - how hot a pepper is.
google - a really really large number

i need a frikin firkin of beer .

 

[sibelman]

Fun list, @fluketamer

google - a really really large number

googol /goo͞′gôl″, -gəl/
noun
The number 10 raised to the power 100 (10100), written out as the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros.

FTFY, as they say.

Here are some beer quantities from Wikipedia:

...and some crazy ***** from a random web site:

A firkin is a 72-pint metal cask​

In terms of size, a firkin is equivalent to 9 imperial gallons or about 10.8 US gallons. This amounts to approximately 72 to 86 pints of beer, depending on the size of the glass being used. A standard pint in the UK is 568 millilitres, while in the US, it is slightly larger at 473 millilitres.

 

[sibelman]

ChatGPT says:
A firkin and a tun are traditional British units used to measure beer. Here’s the breakdown of their volumes:

Firkin​

A firkin is traditionally 9 imperial gallons.

• Pints: There are 8 pints in an imperial gallon, so:
  9 gallons×8 pints/gallon=72 pints9 \text{ gallons} \times 8 \text{ pints/gallon} = 72 \text{ pints}9 gallons×8 pints/gallon=72 pints
• Liters: Since 1 imperial gallon is approximately 4.54609 liters:
  9 gallons×4.54609 liters/gallon≈40.91 liters9 \text{ gallons} \times 4.54609 \text{ liters/gallon} \approx 40.91 \text{ liters}9 gallons×4.54609 liters/gallon≈40.91 liters

Tun​

A tun is 216 imperial gallons.

• Pints: Using the same conversion, there are 8 pints in a gallon:
  216 gallons×8 pints/gallon=1,728 pints216 \text{ gallons} \times 8 \text{ pints/gallon} = 1,728 \text{ pints}216 gallons×8 pints/gallon=1,728 pints
• Liters: Converting 216 gallons to liters:
  216 gallons×4.54609 liters/gallon≈982.0 liters216 \text{ gallons} \times 4.54609 \text{ liters/gallon} \approx 982.0 \text{ liters}216 gallons×4.54609 liters/gallon≈982.0 liters

Summary​

• Firkin: 72 pints, ~40.91 liters
• Tun: 1,728 pints, ~982.0 liters

 

[mac_1103]

cubit - biblical measure of noahs ark

Don't forget the span.

cord - for wood

128 cubic feet.

click - in war movies they always say ten clicks to the east or whatever.

Military slang for kilometer.

 

[Deadalus]

A cord of wood is a stack of wood 8ftx4ftx4ft. Correct that the volume of that total space is 128 cubic feet but you won't get 128 cubic feet of wood as the wood is split and stacked and the volume includes the airspace. (Unless it's a really huge log!)

Some others:

board foot-a slab of wood 12" wide x 12" long x 1" thick.

1 chain-66 feet, a chain has 100 links
rod-1/4 chain or 25 links
furloughfurlong-10 chains
1 mile (land)-80 chains
acre-10 square chains which is also a rectangle 1 chain x 1 furloughfurlong

 

[shoengine]

Nothing beats The Register's units of measurements

https://www.theregister.com/Design/page/reg-standards-converter.html

 

[mac_1103]

furlough-10 chains

Typo? FFF system of units.

 

[Deadalus]

Typo? FFF system of units.

I misread it. That's why it seemed odd, it is furlong. I've seen rods and furlongs mentioned before but not in regard to chains. Acres in square feet never made any sense until I learned about chains and old time surveying.

..a Word or two of Dimensurators or Measuring Instruments, whereof the mosts usual has been the Chain, and the common length for English Measures 4 Poles, as answering indifferently to the Englishs Mile and Acre, 10 such Chains in length making a Furlong, and 10 single square Chains an Acre, so that a square Mile contains 640 square Acres...'[3]

— John Ogilby, Britannia, 1675

 

[Deadalus]

Nothing beats The Register's units of measurements

https://www.theregister.com/Design/page/reg-standards-converter.html

Someone was looking for a Scaramucci measure here recently but I couldn't remember how many days it was (11).

 

[mac_1103]

Someone was looking for a Scaramucci measure here recently...

That was me, but I knew that was 11 days and what I was really looking for is a "Flynn" which turns out to be two Scaramuccis. But since Flynn was hired and fired first, why isn't a Scaramucci half a Flynn?

 

[Deadalus]

That was me, but I knew that was 11 days and what I was really looking for is a "Flynn" which turns out to be two Scaramuccis. But since Flynn was hired and fired first, why isn't a Scaramucci half a Flynn?

Both were the shortest tenures in their respective jobs, (Scaramucci tied). Perhaps because Scaramucci was more let me just say vocal and 11 days isn't even a biweekly pay period!

 

[mac_1103]

And it's more fun to say "Scaramucci."