EVERYTHING has a historical beginning …. here’s one, I bet’cha
didn’t know …….
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Cannon Balls 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.
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There was only one problem — how to prevent the bottom layer from
sliding/rolling out from under the others. The solution was a metal
plate with 16 round indentations, called 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 Brass Monkeys.
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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.
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Snicker snicker snicker …… .
And all this time, you thought that was a vulgar expression, didn’t
you? You must send this fabulous bit of historical knowledge to at
least a few unsuspecting friends.
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