What do you think?

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 it was just a vulgar expression?

Al:)

Don't have a clue if this is true or not, but it's a great story. Do you happen to work for C.A.N.O.E.?

From my looking around, that is true.

If I recall, I did that one in a WOD, some time ago.

It is amazing how many terms we use that came from a nautical source.

Thus C.A.N.O.E

Committee to Assign a Naval Origin to Everything

In The Visual Encyclopedia of Nautical Terms Undersail the word "monkey" is used by itself, and as monkey block, monkey chains, monkey fist, monkey gaff, monkey jacket, monkey poop, monkey rail, monkey rope, monkey seam, and monkey tail. Also in terms like "bleed the monkey" and "suck the monkey", (get your mind out of the gutter, they don't mean what you might think they do.)Those old sailors seem to have been obsessed with monkeys.

The only thing that seems at all "fishy" about the story above is that the general term "monkey" is supposed to mean "a diminutive; something small or little." That doesn't really describe the item that holds the cannon balls, but I guess it could have.

It's a great story though.

Oddly enough, I had never heard that. Must have come from CANOE U.

The Powder Monkey, was the young boy who kept the guns supplied if I remember correcly but I am not really knowledgeable enough to say. It does have a ring of truth about it though given how the English language developed. As Rodger says Monkey's do seem to feature at lot lol, lol.

Nice story either way.

Al

Yes, powder monkeys were the young boys who would run from the guns to the powder magazine to get the powder.

Don't recall if I stole it from Wiki or Google, but it's a lot of fun.