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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:07:03 PM EDT
[#1]
Quoted: Where the hell did this come from? The alphabet 
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:07:50 PM EDT
[#2]
iz bbl, thatz jus wut u call it.
stp bng thicc abote it. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:09:08 PM EDT
[#3]
Babbel
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:10:15 PM EDT
[#4]
Typo that was never fixed. Supposed to be "Brl"
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:10:24 PM EDT
[#5]
Since before any of us were born.
Oil is priced by the bbl. It isn't that big of a stretch to be honest with ya. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:10:37 PM EDT
[#6]
Never understood that one. When I first started reading forums I assumed it meant bull barrel. No idea why bbl caught on as the abbreviation.
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:10:42 PM EDT
[#7]
It is also 42 US gallons.
1 BBL=42 US Gallons |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:11:37 PM EDT
[#8]
I mean, it's somewhat sensible to call it that.
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:12:05 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Never understood that one. When I first started reading forums I assumed it meant bull barrel. No idea why bbl caught on as the abbreviation.
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:12:44 PM EDT
[#10]
4 bbl carb baby.
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:14:33 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Never understood that one. When I first started reading forums I assumed it meant bull barrel. No idea why bbl caught on as the abbreviation. This. I thought it meant "bull barrel." |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:15:08 PM EDT
[#12]
Because an oz of prevention is worth a lb of cure.
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:15:40 PM EDT
[#13]
Shthnd 4 bible bbl ??????????????
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:15:55 PM EDT
[#14]
I was told it came from oil barrels. Carbs use the same abbreviation.
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:16:23 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Because an oz of prevention is worth a lb of cure. lb is derived from Latin. I expect oz is too, though I don't know. Latin was the language of science when it started to get standardized 400 odd years ago. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:16:27 PM EDT
[#16]
Never understood it either
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:16:52 PM EDT
[#17]
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:17:01 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted: No idea why bbl caught on as the abbreviation. "BBL" was used as the abbreviation for the unit of measurement "barrel" - as in a barrel of whiskey/wine/oil/etc. - since at least the 1800s. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:18:02 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: "BBL" was used as the abbreviation for the unit of measurement "barrel" - as in a barrel of whiskey/wine/oil/etc. - since at least the 1800s. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: No idea why bbl caught on as the abbreviation. "BBL" was used as the abbreviation for the unit of measurement "barrel" - as in a barrel of whiskey/wine/oil/etc. - since at least the 1800s. Okay, but why? |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:18:07 PM EDT
[#20]
bbl makes way more sense than lb for pound
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:19:28 PM EDT
[#21]
Old timey abbreviations were often more about distinguishing one from another than making any specific sense in their own.
My guess is bl was already used. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:20:13 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: bbl makes way more sense than lb for pound Derived from libra, Latin for pound weight. You can disagree with it, but there's a clear historical trail for why it exists. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:21:44 PM EDT
[#23]
It comes from Blue Barrel , the color of oil barrels.
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:22:01 PM EDT
[#24]
In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:22:13 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Okay, but why? Does it matter? It was and is the abbreviation. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:22:41 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Old timey abbreviations were often more about distinguishing one from another than making any specific sense in their own. My guess is bl was already used. The weird thing is that in a gun context, it's just a noun. Not a unit of measurement like a barrel of oil or other liquid would be, where you use shorthand on ledgers and such. It's not like we use sst for gunstocks, or gp for the grip, or st for the sights. Why did the barrel end up being something routinely shortened? |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:24:00 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Does it matter? It was and is the abbreviation. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Okay, but why? Does it matter? It was and is the abbreviation. It matters inasmuch as it's an interesting conversation to have. You're welcome to not participate. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:24:01 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Okay, but why? No idea. When I've tried looking it up in the past, most sources seem to say, "we don't really know why they did that, but they did". The most popular false etymology is that it stands for "blue barrel" in reference to Standard Oil's barrels, but the historical usage well predates the existence of such. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:24:05 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It comes from Blue Barrel , the color of oil barrels. It predates the standardized oil barrel and modern oil industry, the former weren't all blue, barrels used in other industries were similarly abbreviated, and that would make its use for gun barrels nonsensical. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:26:05 PM EDT
[#30]
Blue Barrel (BBL)
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:27:18 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Quote HistoryQuoted: In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel. The "bbl" abbreviation dates to at least the revolutionary war / Napoleonic eras. Your unattributed copy and paste is nonsense. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:28:06 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Quote HistoryQuoted: In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel. It's a false folk etymology. Standard Oil was founded in 1870. "BBL" has been noted in records well before that - I found one source mention a 1764 document using "bbl" to denote barrels. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:28:12 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It matters inasmuch as it's an interesting conversation to have. You're welcome to not participate. Ahhh, but I am participating, and offered a response. So, what DOES it matter? Participate, please. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:29:46 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The weird thing is that in a gun context, it's just a noun. Not a unit of measurement like a barrel of oil or other liquid would be, where you use shorthand on ledgers and such. It's not like we use sst for gunstocks, or gp for the grip, or st for the sights. Why did the barrel end up being something routinely shortened? Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Old timey abbreviations were often more about distinguishing one from another than making any specific sense in their own. My guess is bl was already used. The weird thing is that in a gun context, it's just a noun. Not a unit of measurement like a barrel of oil or other liquid would be, where you use shorthand on ledgers and such. It's not like we use sst for gunstocks, or gp for the grip, or st for the sights. Why did the barrel end up being something routinely shortened? Guessing here, but probably the same reason we say "dot mil" and such due to the pervasiveness of the internet. The barrel was ubiquitous in everyday life, and "bbl" was a common shorthand universally just read as "barrel." Things have a way of sticking. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:31:14 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It's a false folk etymology. Standard Oil was founded in 1870. "BBL" has been noted in records well before that - I found one source mention a 1764 document using "bbl" to denote barrels. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel. It's a false folk etymology. Standard Oil was founded in 1870. "BBL" has been noted in records well before that - I found one source mention a 1764 document using "bbl" to denote barrels. Looking into this myself, I believe I found the site you found. http://www.natemaas.com/2011/01/correction-why-bbl-is-not-abbreviation.html |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:31:20 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The "bbl" abbreviation dates to at least the revolutionary war / Napoleonic eras. Your unattributed copy and paste is nonsense. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel. The "bbl" abbreviation dates to at least the revolutionary war / Napoleonic eras. Your unattributed copy and paste is nonsense. Please site an example of bbl used prior to 1872. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:32:09 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Ahhh, but I am participating, and offered a response. So, what DOES it matter? Participate, please. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: It matters inasmuch as it's an interesting conversation to have. You're welcome to not participate. Ahhh, but I am participating, and offered a response. So, what DOES it matter? Participate, please. It's something that people find interesting. That's sufficient for people to talk about it. It doesn't need to matter beyond that threshold. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:33:31 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Please site an example of bbl used prior to 1872. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel. The "bbl" abbreviation dates to at least the revolutionary war / Napoleonic eras. Your unattributed copy and paste is nonsense. Please site an example of bbl used prior to 1872. It just so happens, I just did above. Please site a logical reason why a society that read "bbl" as "blue barrel" and applied it only to an oil context would adopt the abbreviation for gun barrel. But go ahead and demand I provide proof while you just repeat unfounded claims. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:33:32 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Looking into this myself, I believe I found the site you found. http://www.natemaas.com/2011/01/correction-why-bbl-is-not-abbreviation.html Yep, other things I had read were only vague "early 1800s" without a hard date, but would mention that the usage was prior to 1870. So I just looked for "oldest usage" and found that one. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:37:38 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It just so happens, I just did above. Please site a logical reason why a society that read "bbl" as "blue barrel" and applied it only to an oil context would adopt the abbreviation for gun barrel. But go ahead and demand I provide proof while you just repeat unfounded claims. I'm not 'demanding' anything, unbunch your panties. I'm genuinely curious. Its pretty amazing that the 'blue barrel' etymology is all over the internet, from seemingly solid sources yet manifests (which should be readily referenceable) exist showing the use of bbl prior to the 'standard' of 1872. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:40:53 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The "bbl" abbreviation dates to at least the revolutionary war / Napoleonic eras. Your unattributed copy and paste is nonsense. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel. The "bbl" abbreviation dates to at least the revolutionary war / Napoleonic eras. Your unattributed copy and paste is nonsense. You don't think barrels used for Whale Oil wasn't marked so they wouldn't be used for other things, like food. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:44:05 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: bbl makes way more sense than lb for pound That's because you don't speak Latin. "Lb" is the abbreviation for the Libra, the Roman measurement of the pound. The Limeys liked it so much ("Terrific race, the Romans. Terrific.") they held on to it. ETA: Beaten |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:44:07 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You don't think barrels used for Whale Oil wasn't marked so they wouldn't be used for other things like food. If you are implying that whale oil barrels were marked in blue - coincidentally the same color of the much later Standard Oil barrels - and that is where the term came from, note that the above referenced manifest was for foodstuffs in barrels, and abbreviated "bbl". |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:45:49 PM EDT
[#44]
I found a fascinating thread where a great collaborative discussion was had.
https://forums.sassnet.com/index.php?/topic/287024-why-do-we-always-use-bbl-for-the-acronym-for-barrel/ Reading it, I felt reminded of the speech from the end of idiocracy. It's odd to me we keep seeing the exact same manifest on the net, I'm pretty sure I've seen it on other handwritten sources (nothing that old, though). |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:46:54 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted: If you are implying that whale oil barrels were marked in blue - coincidentally the same color of the much later Standard Oil barrels - and that is where the term came from, note that the above referenced manifest was for foodstuffs in barrels, and abbreviated "bbl". Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: You don't think barrels used for Whale Oil wasn't marked so they wouldn't be used for other things like food. If you are implying that whale oil barrels were marked in blue - coincidentally the same color of the much later Standard Oil barrels - and that is where the term came from, note that the above referenced manifest was for foodstuffs in barrels, and abbreviated "bbl". I'm not implying anything, just it would make sense to keep a standard of markings. They did it for poison and gun powder. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:48:12 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm not implying anything, just it would make sense to keep a standard of markings. They did it for poison and gun powder. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: You don't think barrels used for Whale Oil wasn't marked so they wouldn't be used for other things like food. If you are implying that whale oil barrels were marked in blue - coincidentally the same color of the much later Standard Oil barrels - and that is where the term came from, note that the above referenced manifest was for foodstuffs in barrels, and abbreviated "bbl". I'm not implying anything, just it would make sense to keep a standard of markings. They did it for poison and gun powder. So where does the first b come from? We've dispensed with the blue barrel idea from Standard Oil. |
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:48:16 PM EDT
[#47]
Is anyone going to own pp2?
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:49:30 PM EDT
[#48]
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:50:03 PM EDT
[#49]
Barrbel
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Posted: 7/31/2021 11:50:04 PM EDT
[#50]
I agree with OP. Something's wrong here.
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