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aquanut
Bronze Member
- Thread starter
- #301
CANNON BALLS!!! DID YOU KNOW THIS?
It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannon on old warships. 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 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 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?
This fabulous bit of historical knowledge is for you few intellectual friends.
Aquanut
It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannon on old warships. 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 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 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?
This fabulous bit of historical knowledge is for you few intellectual friends.
Aquanut
