Dram (unit)

• The Attic Greek drachma () was a weight of 6 obols, Greek mina, or about 4.37 grams. • The Roman drachma was a weight of Roman pounds, or about 3.41 grams. A coin weighing one drachma is known as a stater, drachm, or drachma. The Ottoman dirhem () was based on the Sassanian drachm, which was itself based on the Roman dram/drachm. ==British unit of mass==

The British Weights and Measures Act 1878 introduced verification and consequent stamping of apothecary weights, making them officially recognized units of measurement. By 1900, Britain had enforced the distinction between the avoirdupois and apothecaries' versions by making the spelling different: • dram now meant only avoirdupois drams, which were of an avoirdupois ounce. An ounce consisted of 437.5 grains, thus making the dram exactly 27.34375 grains. • drachm now meant only apothecaries' drachms, which were of an apothecaries' ounce of 480 grains, or equal to 60 grains. ==Modern unit of mass==

In the avoirdupois system, the dram is the mass of  pound or  ounce. the dram is the mass of  pounds apothecaries (lb ap), or  ounces apothecaries (oz ap or ℥) ==Unit of volume==

The fluid dram (or fluid drachm in British spelling) is defined as fluid ounce, In the early 19th century, a teaspoonful had been considered equal to one fluid dram—60 minims However, by 1876 the teaspoon had grown to 80–85 minims, making the equivalence unsuitable for medicinal dosage. In common usage it is an imprecise measurement of liquor in similar size to a shot with a lot of variance depending on the generosity of server. In the UK it can be more strictly defined, where in English pubs it's equivalent to 25ml, and in Scotland it's 35ml. The unit is used in the phrase dram shop, the U.S. legal term for an establishment that serves alcoholic beverages. ==In popular culture==

The line "Where'd you get your whiskey, where'd you get your dram?" appears in some versions of the traditional pre–Civil War American song "Cindy". In the Monty Python's song "The Bruces' Philosophers Song", there is the line "Hobbes was fond of his dram". In the old-time music tradition of the United States, there is a tune entitled "Gie the Fiddler a Dram", "gie" being the Scots language word for "give", brought over by immigrants and commonly used by their descendants in Appalachia at the time of writing. "Little Maggie," a traditional song popular in bluegrass music, refers to the title character as having a "dram glass in her hand." In the episode "Double Indecency" of the TV series Archer, the character Cheryl/Carol was carrying around 10 drams of Vole's blood and even offered to pay for a taxi ride with it. In Frank Herbert's Dune, the Fremen employ a sophisticated measurement system that involves the drachm (and fractions thereof) to accurately count and economize water, an ultra-precious resource on their home, the desert planet Arrakis. In the video game Caves of Qud water is used as the primary currency, being measured by the Dram. ==Notes==