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Barometer

Barometer: why is oil measured in barrels, and who in England can’t speak English?

Plus: how many police are armed, and how much we spend on furniture

23 January 2016

9:00 AM

23 January 2016

9:00 AM

Roll out the barrel

The price of crude oil dropped below $30 a barrel. Why do we measure it in barrels?
— A standard barrel for the purposes of measuring oil is 42 US gallons or 35 imperial gallons. This was the size of a ‘tierce’, a unit for measuring wine in medieval England.

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