Brass Monkey Trivia Options

[GriffGirl]

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 asquare 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?

[D-Man]

It's storys like this is why i love history. Thanks for this one griff. Do you know where the middle finger comes from?

It comes from the middle ages. When archers got captured the capturers use to chop off the first and second fingers instead of keeping them as prisoners. Could you imagine trying to use a bow and arrow with your other two fingers? So the archers that had never been caught use to show their first and second fingers as an insult to those they were shooting at. Over time it just got shortened to the middle finger. .

Got to love the history channel.

80%.

During the 100 years war the British captured a whole bunch of french and that's where they started this action of cutting off the middle fingers. It' was done to everyone regardless of weapon. Swordsmen cannot efficiently wield their swords (axe, whip, W/e) w/o their middle fingers either.

The British didn't have the resources to care for (iirc) 5000ish POW's, so they just cut off the fingers and sent them home. When the french came back to fight some more, the british fliped em off (as a battle cry; Like when mel gipson mooed the british in braveheart) and that battle was never fought (it's said) that the french turned around and walked home.

I did a history report on this in high school. It was great because when i had to present, i walked to the front of the class (and i had a really b!tchy teacher too) and fliped everyone off, as part of my presentation