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Brass Monkey - Todays Trivia

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Offline Dazzler

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CANNON BALLS!!! DID YOU KNOW THIS?

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 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?
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Offline Shambles

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Well, you live and learn :D



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Offline Dazzler

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Hi M8..

It came from my friend and non active member Philr..

Sounds like it might be folklore.... :-[

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_monkey_(colloquial_expression)
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Offline eye30

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nice little history lesson for us all.
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Offline Blue

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Just like the "no room to swing a cat" tale...

I spent a year or twenty in the Aussie Navy.... and you would be surprised how much of our slang comes from there !


Offline bumpkin

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I had heard that explanation before....................

Interestingly (well for us glass and polymer scientists anyway) Dazz's explanation of brass properties can be taken further, the reason that window glass is 4mm thick is due to the properties of brass also, if you make a molten glass solution and pour it onto a brass plate at room temperature, the molten glass quenches against the brass and instantly solidifies in an even 4mm thick layer 8) 8)
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Offline Dazzler

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I've got  double glazing.. that costs a lot of brass... :lol:
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