Brass Monkey joins Weight Watchers

A few cows not beeing milked down there F'loosie

John, trust you to worry about the cows, I'm usually more worried about their sheep :))))))))

hahahha, I don't know their cows get the same treatment. At least beeing close to the sheep they would have wollen doonas under them. I did see a sheep on TV last night shaking a layer of snow off the top, I guess that was ready for a nephew.

Are these the sheep with "cliff edge function"?

Now don't you be disparaging about electricity

Think your sparking skills may be needed Mr Bonz. Pedal power, AAA batteries?

The brass triangle was called a monkey (mung key).

You are correct regarding the origin of the terminoligy however the modern interpretation is probably more widely understood.

cheers

des

just learned the brass mun key story a few days ago.

I always thought it was "Freeze the walls of a Bark Humpy"

Almost correct ..............
The original triangles upon which the ball rested had feet in the shape of a monkeys foot [similar to claw-foot baths?] hence the refernce to a "brass monkey."

And further to Naval tradition.....
The toilet in ships is usually referred to as the HEADS ............which emanated from the old sailing ship days .... the common sailor went forward to the bowsprit net and "did his duty" there, underneath the figureHEAD, which adorned all large sailing vessels. Paper was generally not available [the captain frowned on using his charts and bills of lading for this function !!] so "natural bidet activity" from the waves was utilised.
Spare a thought for those poor sailors who traversed the frigid Atlantic Ocean !!

and that's no bum steer !

aqnd we regarding THE GOLDEN RIVET ....well, we just wont go there, will we !!

"...the brass would shrink faster than the lead allowing the cannon balls to break...."

Minor tweak, the cannon balls were actually made of iron. Lead balls would have deformed under their own weight.

OOOOOOOPs !
Correct, my oversight there....... the cannonballs were indeed of iron! Thanx Gary.

...and for further reference it was the Spanish armies that it happened to when they were trying to conquer the northern parts of Europe (Netherlands/"Holland", and the Scandenavian countries). Strangely unsuccessful attempts LOL........

As a Navy bod, I was always told the cannon shot theory as well, but it is more than likely a myth for several reasons.

Most importantly, shot was not stacked in this fashion because in rough seas the stack would collpase and the shot would roll loosely around the deck. In action, gun decks were carefully cleared to ensure that the crews could work unhampered. Shot was stowed in shot racks (or shot garlands) available for ready use. Gun Captains were very particular about how the shot was treated as any imperfections (including rust) could affect the ballistic qualities of the shot. As such it would not have been left stacked and exposed but stored and maintained fairly carefully.

Outside my area of expertise, but I would imagine that physics has a role to play. Even given the different contraction rates between iron and brass, it is hard to picture the monkey (a general term for anything that is useful) contracting sufficiently to dislodge a heavy stack of iron balls.

I have heard that the brass monkeys were used for ceremonial occassions, but again, the possibility of loose shot rolling around the deck is not one that the Mate would welcome. In any case, tradition requires that all weapons are secured and not available for use when entering foreign ports and readily available stacks of ammunition would run counter to this.

Matt.