Why BBL?

[Pulsar]

OK, this has been bugging me ever since I first saw it.

Why the heck is the abreviation of Barrel, BBL? Where the heck did that extra B come from?!

[mike100]

I think it is from the oil industry to indicate a 55 gallon drum unit (or 44 gal imperial for you poms and aussies).

[Fjold]

I think it is from the oil industry to indicate a 55 gallon drum unit (or 44 gal imperial for you poms and aussies).

42 gallons for oil (petroleum products),

55 gallons is a Drum

[BossHog]

I've always assumed BBL meant "Blued Barrel".

[GSequoia]

BBL has been the abbreviation for barrel for a long time.

Carburetors use that abbreviation as well (4bbl).

[Hunter]

A little search comes up with this....

The "b" may have been doubled originally to indicate the plural (1 bl, 2 bbl), or possibly it was doubled to eliminate any confusion with bl as a symbol for the bale (see above). Some sources claim that "bbl" originated as a symbol for "blue barrels" delivered by Standard Oil in its early days; this is almost certainly incorrect because there are citations for the symbol at least as early as the late 1700s, long before Standard Oil was founded.

[CRTguns]

Cause "lb" was already taken by a similarly non-related term.

[DedEye]

I always wondered the same thing. Thanks for the responses.