cannon balls On the old sailing war ships it was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannons.
But the problem was how to prevent them from rolling about the deck. The storage method devised was to stack them as a square based pyramid, with one ball on top resting on four ... which in turn rested 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! *Permission is granted to share.* However, please remove my name before forwarding. Should you not be able to delete my name, please do not share with others*. THANK YOU. * *I believe in God as being creator of all and pray he continues to Bless America, our Troops & Our Allies** * *To continue being one nation under God and to keep our freedom, continue reminding your local and Federal representatives. especially the newly elected.* -- USE INCREDIMAIL ONLY IN THIS GROUP NO NUDITY ALLOWED
