Posted on: June 2, 2008 3:29 am
balls % monkeys
Subject: A Bit Of Naval History - - - THAT YOU NEVER KNEW!!!
COLD ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE BALLS OFF A BRASS MONKEY
On old war ships it was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannon. But how to prevent them from rolling about the deck was a big problem.
The best storage method devised was to stack them as a square based pyramid, with one ball on top, resting on four, resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon.
There was only one problem -- how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding/ rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate with 16 round indentations, called a Monkey. But if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make Monkeys from brass.
Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would be pushed right off the Monkey.
When this happened, it was quite literally, cold enough to FREEZE THE BALLS OFF A BRASS MONKEY!!!
----- And all this time, you thought that was a vulgar expression, didn't you?