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, or It's cold enough to freeze your balls off.

And all this time, you thought that was just a vulgar expression, didn't you?

It's all about being colder that a witches t!t (super secret code). Why didn't they just put a wood lip around the brass monkey? Wouldn't that solve the problem.



Kadin

Good to know! Interesting information. If you would like to know where I heard the worn SH** derived from, I could tell you. It is the least I could do.

DO TELL!!

Certain types of manure used to be transported (as everything was back then) by ship. In dry form it weighs a lot less, but once water (at sea) hit it. It not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas.

As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen; methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern. BOOOOM!

Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was discovered what was happening.

After that, the bundles of manure where always stamped with the term "S.H.I.T" on them which meant to the sailors to "Ship High In Transit." In other words, high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.

They would smell bad. So when the manure was boxed up, they stamped the outside of the box, S.H.I.T

When people came aboard the ship and said,"Oh what is that smell!" They were told it was s***.

Thanks JC, that was cool! Always fun to learn something new

Wow, Jeopardy here I come. I'm loaded with more trivia.

Hey I learned a couple new things.

Sorry to jack your thread scotto, but I did learn something new also. Now whenever I say "It's cold enough to freeze my balls off" I'll know where it was derived from and I bet it will be a story while they are warming up!

Do any of you know what was born from "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge"?

Nice info