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Archiver > OLD-WORDS > 2001-05 > 0990469813


From: lynda <>
Subject: [O-W] Monkeys
Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 14:30:13 -0400
References: <16598614.990396616173.JavaMail.nobody@smtp.backend.another.com>


Someone sent this to me. Cannot attest to its source or authenticity.
L


In the heyday of the Sailing ship. Every ship had to have cannon for
protection. Cannon of the times required round iron cannon balls. The master
wanted to store the cannonballs such that they could be of instant use when
needed, yet not roll around the gun deck. The solution was to stack them up
in a square-based pyramid next to the cannon. The top level of the stack had
one ball, the next level down had four, the next had nine, the next had
sixteen, and so on. Four levels would provide a stack of 30 cannonballs. The
only real problem was how to keep the bottom level from sliding out from
under the weight of the higher levels

To do this, they devised a small plate ("monkey") with one rounded
indentation for each cannonball in the bottom layer. When iron was used to
make this plate ("monkey") the cannonballs would rust to the plate.
As a result, these plates were made of brass to prevent this problem -- thus
the "brass monkey".

When temperature falls, brass contracts in size faster than iron. As it
got cold on the gun decks, the indentations in the brass monkey
would get smaller than the iron cannonballs they were holding. If the
temperature got cold enough, the bottom layer would pop out of the
indentations spilling the entire pyramid over the deck. Thus it was, quite
literally, "COLD ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE BALLS OFF A BRASS MONKEY."

And all this time you thought we were talking dirty




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