Units Conversion Puzzle

JHagerson · 2005-11-18, 04:08

I was watching a TV program that went "behind the scenes" in a particular industry. They showed a number of manufacturing processes and their results.

At one of the facilities, there was a vessel that was labeled as having a capacity of 6819 litres. This was not a new facility, but it was very clean.

Can you tell me the capacity of this vessel as it was originally stated?
Can you tell me where it was located? (Country.)
For bonus points: Can you tell me the industry that was profiled?

As a hint: This question is very appropriate for the Lounge.
John

xilman · 2005-11-18, 08:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHagerson

I was watching a TV program that went "behind the scenes" in a particular industry. They showed a number of manufacturing processes and their results.

At one of the facilities, there was a vessel that was labeled as having a capacity of 6819 litres. This was not a new facility, but it was very clean.

Can you tell me the capacity of this vessel as it was originally stated?
Can you tell me where it was located? (Country.)
For bonus points: Can you tell me the industry that was profiled?

As a hint: This question is very appropriate for the Lounge.
John

The volume given is very indeed close to 1500 Imperial gallons.

From this, we can make a reasonable guess that the vessel was located in England
or one of her (recent) colonies. That leaves quite a number of alternatives, including
the UK, Eire, Australia and Canada.

The industry could be producing one of many different products, including beer,
cider, wine, spirits, milk. From your "appropriate" comment, I'd guess a beer
brewery was being shown.

Paul

JHagerson · 2005-11-18, 14:01

I hesitated whether to use the "appropriate" hint or not. The television program was about brewing and distilleries. If memory serves, the particular plant was the Beefeeter Gin distillery in London.

Labeling the vessel with such an exact capacity did not sit well with me after different discussions of significant digits. I reasoned that there had to be a "round figure" measurement for the capacity of the brewing vat.

The special was produced by the cable History Channel in the United States.

ewmayer · 2005-11-18, 20:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHagerson

The special was produced by the cable History Channel in the United States.

Ah, well that means that the vat would have had a capacity of 6819 liters, not 6819 litres. Better redo all your math, lads. ;)

I notice that the stated volume also works out extremely closely to 1800 US gallons - is the US gallon defined to be *precisely* 5/6 of an imperial gallon?

Greenbank · 2005-11-18, 20:39

No, it is approximately 6:5.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallon

xilman · 2005-11-19, 10:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenbank

No, it is approximately 6:5.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallon

The US gallon and the Imperial gallon are each defined to be 8 (local) pints. One part of the discrepancy in the sizes of the units lies in the fact that the Imperial pint contains 20 fluid ounces and the US pint only 16.

Another part of the discrepancy is that the fluid ounce is a difference in the volume of the fluid ounce. A US floz is 1.0408427 Imperial floz.

The upshot of all this is that the Imperial gallon is 1.2009499 US gallons. Thus the US gallon is not defined to be 5/6 of an imperial gallon.

Finding out why the US fluid ounce is approximately 26/25 Imperial fluid ounces is left as an exercise.

Paul

fatphil · 2005-11-19, 11:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by xilman

Finding out why the US fluid ounce is approximately 26/25 Imperial fluid ounces is left as an exercise.

Easy. The yanks are 20% more inbred than the Brits!

Phil

dsouza123 · 2005-11-20, 03:24

How distasteful are the poisonous words of a thinly veiled insult,
that mar an enjoyable and informative thread.

So the Philistines were subdued,
and they came no more within the border of Israel

1 Samuel 7:13 ASV (American Standard Version)

fatphil · 2005-11-20, 11:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsouza123

How distasteful are the poisonous words of a thinly veiled insult,
that mar an enjoyable and informative thread.

So the Philistines were subdued,
and they came no more within the border of Israel

1 Samuel 7:13 ASV (American Standard Version)

You don't know:
a) What nationality I am
b) What nationality my long-term partner is
c) What country chose I live in
If you did, you would hopefully see my post as ironic, and not insulting at all.

Just for reference - can you explain to me where I got my "20%" from?
If you can't then you've understood little about my post at all, and have no grounds upon which to form comment.

Wait a second? What's this nonsense about "thinly veiled insult"? It's an explicit obvious and utterly unnecessary insult! On the surface. The fact that it was so unneccessary should have given a hint that it wasn't the payload of the message at all, merely the delivery mechanism.

Looking for an enjoyable thead, were you? I'm afraid you've got the wrong forum. This is abuse.

xilman · 2005-11-20, 14:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatphil

Looking for an enjoyable thead, were you? I'm afraid you've got the wrong forum. This is abuse.

ITYM "Ah yes, you want room 12A, Just along the corridor.". HTH, HAND.

Paul

dsouza123 · 2005-11-20, 17:14

Irony abounds
and giving credit where credit is due.

Thank you for your contributions which enabled the ironic content
of my previous post.

Couldn't have done it without you.

Sometimes it takes a global village to create irony, ;)

sometimes not.

2005-11-18, 04:08	#1
JHagerson May 2005 Naperville, IL, USA 11000100₂ Posts	Units Conversion Puzzle I was watching a TV program that went "behind the scenes" in a particular industry. They showed a number of manufacturing processes and their results. At one of the facilities, there was a vessel that was labeled as having a capacity of 6819 litres. This was not a new facility, but it was very clean. Can you tell me the capacity of this vessel as it was originally stated? Can you tell me where it was located? (Country.) For bonus points: Can you tell me the industry that was profiled? As a hint: This question is very appropriate for the Lounge. John

2005-11-18, 14:01	#3
JHagerson May 2005 Naperville, IL, USA 2²·7² Posts	I hesitated whether to use the "appropriate" hint or not. The television program was about brewing and distilleries. If memory serves, the particular plant was the Beefeeter Gin distillery in London. Labeling the vessel with such an exact capacity did not sit well with me after different discussions of significant digits. I reasoned that there had to be a "round figure" measurement for the capacity of the brewing vat. The special was produced by the cable History Channel in the United States. Last fiddled with by JHagerson on 2005-11-18 at 14:04 Reason: Change text color

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2005-11-18, 20:39	#5
Greenbank Jul 2005 2×193 Posts	No, it is approximately 6:5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallon

2005-11-20, 03:24	#8
dsouza123 Sep 2002 2×331 Posts	How distasteful are the poisonous words of a thinly veiled insult, that mar an enjoyable and informative thread. So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more within the border of Israel 1 Samuel 7:13 ASV (American Standard Version)

2005-11-20, 17:14	#11
dsouza123 Sep 2002 2×331 Posts	Irony abounds and giving credit where credit is due. Thank you for your contributions which enabled the ironic content of my previous post. Couldn't have done it without you. Sometimes it takes a global village to create irony, ;) sometimes not.