MrBishop
Well-Known Member
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carriediron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It wasnecessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. But how to prevent themfrom rolling about the deck?
The best storage method devised was asquare based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on ninewhichrested on sixteen.
Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in asmall area right next to the cannon.
There was only one problem -- how to prevent the bottom layer fromsliding/rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal platecalled a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. But if this plate was madeof iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to therusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize thatbrasscontracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.
Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brassindentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would comeright off themonkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the ballsoffa brass monkey!" (And all this time, you thought that was an improper_expression, didn't you?)
The best storage method devised was asquare based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on ninewhichrested on sixteen.
Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in asmall area right next to the cannon.
There was only one problem -- how to prevent the bottom layer fromsliding/rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal platecalled a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. But if this plate was madeof iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to therusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize thatbrasscontracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.
Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brassindentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would comeright off themonkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the ballsoffa brass monkey!" (And all this time, you thought that was an improper_expression, didn't you?)
