tg Shannon
Jan 17, 2010, 6:14 AM
For all of my intellectual friends (plus a couple of others).
It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannon on old
war ships. But how to prevent them from rolling about the deck was the problem.
The 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, for reasons unknown, 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 them of brass - hence, Brass Monkeys. Few
landlubbers realize that brass contracts muc h 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 come right off the monkey.
Thus, it was quite literally, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass
monkey. And all this time, folks thought that was just a vulgar expression? You
must send this fabulous bit of historical knowledge to at least a few
intellectual friends.
It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannon on old
war ships. But how to prevent them from rolling about the deck was the problem.
The 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, for reasons unknown, 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 them of brass - hence, Brass Monkeys. Few
landlubbers realize that brass contracts muc h 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 come right off the monkey.
Thus, it was quite literally, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass
monkey. And all this time, folks thought that was just a vulgar expression? You
must send this fabulous bit of historical knowledge to at least a few
intellectual friends.