Regarding your question of February 11th @ 6.07 p.m.
''What is an imp gallon? I had an oil change when I was up in Montana, and the mechanic refilled with oil from ''1 imp gallon'' cans. The mechanic said it was good oil from Canada. The imp gallon is not a dwarf gallon or midget gallon, at all. It's the dry gallon, but filled with oil instead of oats. Why does Canada use the dry gallon for liquids, and why do they call it an imp when it's so big?''
Dennis, you have fallen victim to the spreading practice of dropping the period from abbreviations.
(victimology – the study of ethnic & sexual minorities)
(victimhood – clue clux clan membership)
It's supposed to be imp., not imp.
The abbreviation imp. in the Dominion of Canada stands for improved measure or imperial measure. So 1 imp.gal. is 1 imperial/improved gallon.
The fluid gallon & dry gallon were replaced in 1826 in the Dominion of Canada by the imperial/improved gallon, but not by the explicit gallon. The explicit gallon is only used to calculate the improved/imperial gallon, it has never been used in commerce, interstate, interprovince, or otherwise.
This means that the imperial/improved gallon is used not only for bulks, but for liquids also. If you think that's nuts, have a look at the N.E.R.E. french deca/litre', where they also try the same stunt, with the added derangement that a deca/litre' is not a deca/gravre' of anything on this planet. The deca/litre' is just one example of what can happen to a country when a dictator like nutty Napoleon takes over.
The improved/imperial gallon was invented in 1826 by the United Kingdom of Ulster & Grand Breton, and is based on 1 av.gal. of corn. Why, is not known, as corn is a native american crop, not a native britanic crop.
Although 1 imperial/improved gallon is based on 1 avoirdupois gallon of corn, it is calculated by 1.250 explicit gallon of distilled water @ 39.2º. As you can see, 1 improved/imperial gallon is 5/4 of 1 explicit gallon, not 7/6, which is why explicit measure and imperial/improved measure do not tie up at the usual points.
Info @
http://www.weights-and-measures.com
And topic:
Common Fluid Measure & Common Dry Measure
Britains Explicit Measure & Britains Improved Measure
Napoleon Emperor's Republic of Europe Decadent Small-Fluid Measure
& Full-Dry Measure
I don't see what is so crazy about the Imperial gallon. For solids, it is almost the same as the US dry gallon (so about 8 lb of wheat), and for liquids it is 10lb of water.
Current Topic - Abbreviations use the ., so look for it.