BARREL AND ITS VARIOUS MEANINGS (PART 1)

 

BARREL AND ITS VARIOUS MEANINGS

(PART 1)

           Curiously, one of our blog readers asked me recently:  “Uncle Sam, How big is a barrel?” 

DESCRIPTION OF BARREL AS A CONTAINER

          A barrel (noun) is a big container, made of wood, metal or plastic, with a flat top and bottom and curved sides that make it fatter in the middle, with metal hoops or bands round it.  Please see the picture of a typical barrel (as a container) below:

Source:  Wili Wiki/Fandom

 

          It is necessary to explain here that barrels that are used for wine or fermented/distilled beverages hold or contain 31 gallons or 117.34 litres.  But those used for petroleum, hold or contain 42 gallons or 159 litres.  (This appears to be the explanation that the inquirer referred to at the onset, is looking for).

          Let us take note, however, that in the oil industry, crude oil is not poured into barrel containers first, before being transferred into storage tanks or exportation vessels.  Rather, the litres of the crude oil are simply translated or calculated into barrels (at the rate of 159 litres per barrel) for ease of calculations.   So, if about 50,000,000 litres of oil is loaded into a vessel, that quantity would be said to be 314,465.4 barrels.

Examples of Usage

i         Nigeria currently produces 1.35 million barrels of crude oil per day.

ii        Did you know that Saudi Arabia produces over 9 million barrels of crude oil daily?

iii.      Qatar, with its small population of 2.7 million people, produces about 2 million barrels of crude oil daily.

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF CONTAINER BARREL

           According to the Roman historian, Pliny the Elder, the craft of barrel making, which also called cooperage, was invented by the inhabitants of the Alpine valleys, during the Roman Empire.

          As the years went by, there came to be 2 (two) main types of container barrels known as the European oak barrels and the American white oak barrels. Barrels made up of American oak wood offer caramel, vanilla, and soft and mellow flavours, while barrels made up of European oak wood offer bitter, spicy, and wooden flavours.

          But today, with development of more technology, we now also have barrels that are made of metal and plastic materials.

OTHER MEANINGS AND USAGE OF BARREL

Gun Barrel (noun)

 All guns have barrels, and the barrels have three parts.  The three main parts of a gun barrel are the front end where fired projectiles or bullets exit; the chamber; and the beginning of the barrel that holds a cartridge or shot shell for firing.  Let us look at the pictures of some gun barrels shown below:

1.  . Single Barrel Gun

 
(Picture Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

 

  Double Barrel Gun

 (Picture Credit:  SolidMaks)

 

Short Barrel Gun (family of pistols, revolvers and other hand-guns) 

(Picture Credit:  CrossBreeds Holsters)

 

 BARREL ORGAN (noun)

 A large musical instrument that plays music when you turn a handle on the side.  In 

earlier times, barrel organs were played outside to entertain people, often with a monkey 

sitting on top.

BARREL ROLL (noun)

    This refers to a movement of an aircraft in which it turns over and then back up again.  This is often seen during Air Force training or ceremonies.

 RAIN BARREL (noun)

  This is also called Water Butt in UK English and Water Tank in Australian English.   It is a large container used for collecting rain which can be subsequently used for watering of plants.