A measure of volume called gallon, and in short gall, is often a blank state for many. It is mainly used to measure the capacity of liquids as well as loose materials. The gallon measure is currently used in countries such as Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. What is a gallon, how many quarts are in a gallon and what is so interesting about it? Let’s find out in our short article.
Gallon – what is it?
Gallon (short for gal) was once a popular unit throughout Western Europe. Currently, they are used mainly in the United States, Great Britain and Ireland, and in some postcolonial countries.
In the US, US gallons are used, which take a different value for liquids and a different value for bulk solids. One US gallon of liquid is about 3.78 liters, while one US gallon of bulk solids is about 4.4 liters.
In Great Britain, Ireland and partly in Canada, substances are measured in English gallons (imperial gallons). It is 4.54 liters and is rather used in everyday language. The English gallon as a unit of fuel volume is found in some Commonwealth of Nations countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, while the US gallon in Columbia or Haiti. Currently, many of these countries plan to replace gallons with liters.
Pint or half-quarter
Pint is also called half-quarter, as gallons have different varieties. The English pint (imperial pint) is 568 ml and is officially used in Great Britain, Ireland and Kenya as a measure of beer, cider and milk. In Commonwealth countries, and above all in Canada, New Zealand and Australia, English pint is used colloquially.
There is an American pint in the United States. And again its value changes in relation to liquids and loose bodies. Pint of liquid is 473 ml, pint of loose bodies (definitely less used) 551 ml. Sometimes pint can be found in France, Quebec and some regions of Germany and Switzerland, which also has different values.
Measure converter:
English gallon = 4 English quarts = 8 English pints = 4.54609 liters
US liquid gallon = 231 cubic inches = 3.785411784 liters
US gallon for US dry gallon = 4 US quarts = 8 US pints = 4.40488377086 liters.
Gallon not only as a measure
Did you know that the concept of gallon is also used in haberdashery? Gallon is a woven or braided tape made entirely or with the addition of metal threads.
Gallons have been used since the 16th century to decorate clothes by sewing them on costumes. In the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were used in court and ceremonial costumes. Later they stayed on livery, and they began to be used to determine distinction on military uniforms, especially on epaulettes and hats. In simplified terms, gallon is often identified in connection with this, the epaulette, epaulette or the military shoulder pad at all.
The term gallon was also used to finish upholstery made of silk or cotton tape (from the second half of the 18th century).
