..Gsus.. Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 okay iv been watching alot of movies and i noticed when americans go to fill up there car they say there filling it up with GAS, when clearly its a liqued there for its PETROL. over here in australia we call it petrol which is short for petroleum i think. this is been bugging me so can sumone explain the background of this and why its called they call petrol gass. its not just movies iv noticed it, its cartoons and reality shows. please dont flame, im not trying to make fun of, just curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuarterSwede Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 We call it Gasoline. Being lazy, or something, we shortened it to just "gas." English often makes little sense unless you understand the history of the words. In this case, Wikipedia would have done you some good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soothsayer Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 We call it "gas" over here in the states because it is short for "Gasoline". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
former1 Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Because so much of it comes out their mouths :ninja: Ok lame atempt at a joke :p. Erm I honestly wouldn't know :( lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnaBonger Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Why do the english call it petrol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceBrewedBeer Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 We call it gas cause it's gangsta to shorten words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyS Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 petrol = fossil black liquid gasoline = derived from petrol (just like plastic, and another hundred products) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brotherrabbit Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Bah it's always like that, it's the same reason why they steal the name "football" for some game that involves tackling people, when the game clearly has little to do with using the Foot to the ball. Backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuarterSwede Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Bah it's always like that, it's the same reason why they steal the name "football" for some game that involves tackling people, when the game clearly has little to do with using the Foot to the ball.Backwards. 586589991[/snapback] A short entry on Wikipedia: When the English language word "football" originated, it referred to a wide variety of games in medieval Europe, which were played on foot ? that is, by peasants ? as opposed to the games played by horse-riding aristocraTherefore the name has always implied a variety of games played by people on foot, not just those that involved kicking a ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raskren Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 I'd say the British pronounciation is incorrect. You call it Petrol but it is not petroleum...it is made from petroleum. We call it gas because that's short for gasoline. Which is exactly what it is: gasoline. Most international oil companies call it "gasoline" as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Gasoline, as it is known in North America, or petrol (abbreviated from petroleum spirit), in many Commonwealth countries (sometimes also called motor spirit) is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. The term gasoline is commonly used within the oil industry, even within companies that are not American. The word "gasoline" is commonly shortened in colloquial usage to "gas". The term mogas, short for motor gasoline, for use in cars is used to distinguish it from avgas, aviation gasoline used in (light) aircraft. This should be distinguished in usage from genuinely gaseous fuels used in internal combustion engines such as LPG. More Info @ Wikipedia Brief explaination in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnaBonger Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 petrol = fossil black liquidgasoline = derived from petrol (just like plastic, and another hundred products) 586590007[/snapback] So you're saying gasoline & petrol are two different things? :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesmithg Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Well why do they call a nappy a dyper. Why call a beefburger a hamburger. Why call them French Fries when they're Chips. Why favorite, neighbor, freeway, sidewalk, block, color, etc.. Each to their own. Well the ones that are bad, are, baseball (rounders), soccer (football) and snokah (snooker). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxicfume Veteran Posted September 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted September 28, 2005 I always called it petrol myself, but i'm beginning to get used to calling it gas due to the american influence on the people here making them call it gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 It probably wasn't the best idea to shorten it to the name of another fossil fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyS Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 So you're saying gasoline & petrol are two different things? :no: 586590033[/snapback] it IS different things... if everybody in your country (including your dictionary) calls it "petroleum" they're all wrong petroleum is the raw result of millions years of fossil liquids... you "burn" it, and then you'll get gasoline and another hundred products... you cannot put the real petroleum in your car and drive... :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xero Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Why call them French Fries when they're Chips. I believe they are called Freedom Fries my friend...as of 9/11... duh... :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
]EGG[ Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 The one word that destroys me every time I hear a Yank say it is the word "Aluminium". Cracks me up everytime I hear them on the TV saying "a-loo-min-um" as oppossed to the Brit way of saying "al-u-min-ium". Others that personally grate me are the use of the word "already" at the end of a sentence. Also why do people say there going to "write you" and not "write TO you"? WHY?? However, a change I have to pat them on the back for is the way the Americans pronounce the letter "Z" as "Zee" and not "Zed" as us Brits do! The word "ZED" doesn't phonetically match any other letter in the alphabet and it should be pronounced "Zee" surely? I remember this caused all sorts of frustration whilst watching Sesame Street as a youngster and added to the horror of witnessing a 12 foot camp bright yellow bird mincing about some New York street made sure I never studied the American Educational system ever again! Peace :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Gsus.. Posted September 28, 2005 Author Share Posted September 28, 2005 is petroleum the same as gasoline? and i try not to trust wiipedia since its facts are uploaded by members. and if its gangsta to call gasoline gas y not go that one step further and cal it... g, g, g, gas - unit.. no lol lame joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnaBonger Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 it IS different things... if everybody in your country (including your dictionary) calls it "petroleum" they're all wrongpetroleum is the raw result of millions years of fossil liquids... you "burn" it, and then you'll get gasoline and another hundred products... you cannot put the real petroleum in your car and drive... :yes: 586590070[/snapback] I don't discount the fact that pertoleum when refined makes gasoline and other items... I'm more or less questioning the terminology of gasoline vs. petrol. In the end both gas & petrol are the same thing, refined petroleum... My car and your car will both run on it (assuming neither one of us drives a deisel :p ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redFX Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 And why are cigarrets called fags in the UK? When my british bud was visiting me in NYC and said I'm going to go and smoke a ***... people thought he was a gangster who was going to go murder a homo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Veteran Posted September 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted September 28, 2005 Well why do they call a nappy a dyper.Why call a beefburger a hamburger. Why call them French Fries when they're Chips. Why favorite, neighbor, freeway, sidewalk, block, color, etc.. Each to their own. Well the ones that are bad, are, baseball (rounders), soccer (football) and snokah (snooker). 586590038[/snapback] I'll take a stab at a few of those: Nappy means kinked and knotted, and it is diaper not dyper. Hamburgers are from the tradtional chopped beef steaks most known in the Hamburg, Germany area. French Fries were called "french" due to the type of cut used on the potato, a French Cut, aka the julienne. We spell favorite and neighbor that way becuase due to our accent that extra "u" would no be phonetically correct. Not sure what is wrong with Baseball, but if you have an issue with "soccer" you should look no further than the Brits as it is their term that we adopted. From Bill Bryson's "A brief history of the nearly everything", regarding "aluminum". Apparently the discoverer of the element, Humphrey Davy, called it "alumium" but then changed it 4 years alter to "aluminum". Americans had no issue with the new term, but the Brits thought it had to maintain the "-ium" suffix that was the norm for naming new elements. So you can decide who is "right" about that one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcinay Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 And in french we call it "essence"! K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
]EGG[ Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 LOL :) redFX Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Veteran Posted September 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted September 28, 2005 is petroleum the same as gasoline?and i try not to trust wiipedia since its facts are uploaded by members. and if its gangsta to call gasoline gas y not go that one step further and cal it... g, g, g, gas - unit.. no lol lame joke 586590108[/snapback] No, gasoline is dervied from petroleum as are lots of other products. So I think, to call the fuel you put in a vehicle "petrol" as a shortened form of petroleum, is incorrect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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