HISTORY LESSON
Betcha didn't know this!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired
round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon, but they had to find a way to prevent them
from rolling about the deck. The best storage method devised was 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 or rolling from under the others.
The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. But, if this plate was made of iron,
the iron balls quickly would rust to it.
The solution to the rusting problem was to make "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, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you?)
