Brass Monkeys

[James Smith]

My daughter, studying in England, just forwarded this
to me.  Folk etymology?? Urban legend??  True??
Sounds suspicious, but an interesting story
nonetheless.


> Subject: Brass Monkeys
> Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2002
>
> In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and
> many
>
> freighters carried iron cannons.  Those cannons
> fired
> round iron cannon balls and it was necessary to keep
> a
>
> good supply of cannon balls near the cannon.
>
> Problem - cannon balls kept rolling around the deck.
>
> Solution - stack them in a square based pyramid with
> 1
>
> ball on top, resting on 4 resting on 9, which rested
>
> on 16. A supply of 30 balls could be stacked in a
> small area next to the cannon.
>
> Problem - how to prevent the bottom layer from
> sliding
>
> or rolling from under the others.
>  Solution - a metal plate called a, "Monkey",
> with 16 round indentations.
>
> Problem - If this plate was made of
> iron, the iron canon balls would quickly rust to it.
>
>  Solution - make the plate of brass aka "Brass
> Monkeys".
>
> Few realized 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
> 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 have had dirty
> thoughts, haven't you??.
>
>
>
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=====
James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will be sued
jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
                               |or slowly and cautiously.

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