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New Moderator
- Thread starter JonPop
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Pirate
Retired Administrator, PEGym Hero
JP, you are a braver man than I: those boot heels look pretty scary to me.
BW, I'll let you play with my bow chaser though.
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Pirate
Retired Administrator, PEGym Hero
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Freezing the Balls off a "Brass Monkey"
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 best 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 cannonballs 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, you thought that was just a vulgar expression,didn't you?
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 best 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 cannonballs 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, you thought that was just a vulgar expression,didn't you?
Pirate
Retired Administrator, PEGym Hero
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Pirate
Retired Administrator, PEGym Hero
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Pirate
Retired Administrator, PEGym Hero
Pirate
Retired Administrator, PEGym Hero
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Batwoman
Moderator Reserve, PEGym Hero
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Ah, but we all know that treasure chests are best kept secret! And Batwoman always keeps hers well guarded.....
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Arrrgghh, the eunuchs guarding your treasure chest shall fall to my mighty saber, as I thrust mightily. They be's no match, says me. (jP
