Cannon Balls

CANNON BALLS! DID YOU KNOW THIS?

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 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 just
a vulgar expression, didn't you? You must send this fabulous
bit of historical knowledge to at least a few uneducated friends....just as
I did!