Paphos People

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. 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?

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Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

because you tell so many porky`s on here..
no one believes you ..

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REACH 1000`s of PAPHOS CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT THE OTHERS CHARGE
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Whilst the optimist and the pessimist argued that the whisky glass was either half full
or half empty ? .
I drank it .....
The opportunist..

oh yes they do....

_________________
Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

This story is complete rubbish! Not fact at all. It's one of those silly urban myths

Check the oxford site http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwordorigins/brassmonkeys?view=uk

I originally learnt this on the BBC programme called "Balderdash and Piffle", it's a really interesting show.

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Alison - Ali for short

Told you so , told you so !! ..
Billy liar ..

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REACH 1000`s of PAPHOS CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT THE OTHERS CHARGE
----------------------------------------------------------------
Whilst the optimist and the pessimist argued that the whisky glass was either half full
or half empty ? .
I drank it .....
The opportunist..

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Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly!
Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably
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Oh, well, if we're talking urban myths, this is my favourite:

http://www.seniorark.com/Humor/spurned% ... evenge.htm

Lesley

Great story Lesley.

Regarding Brass Monkeys, there are several problems with this story. The first is that the term 'monkey' is not otherwise recorded as the name for such an object. The second is that the rate of contraction of brass in cold temperatures is unlikely to be sufficient to cause the reputed effect. The third is that the phrase is actually first recorded as 'freeze the tail off a brass monkey', which removes any essential connection with balls. It therefore seems most likely that the phrase is simply a ribald allusion to the fact that metal figures will become very cold to the touch in cold weather.

So I think we can rest assured that it is a load of tails. Good try though.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

Ah balderdash, I best stick to the dodgy links this guys keeps sending me if I cant repy on his facts..

_________________
Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

Good old snopes.com. You forgot the bit about them becoming brittle tho....

Lesley

Damn, foiled again.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

Ok try this one then, where did the word schrapnel come from in relation to peices of metal from bombs or motar.
Answers on a postcard please.......lol. Maggie

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Ive seen it all now, well most of it anyway!

Don't know how accurate this is but sounds feasable

The word shrapnel is derived from the name of Major-General Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), an English artillery officer, whose experiments, initially conducted on his own time, and at his own expense, culminated in the design and development of a new type of artillery shell.

The term originally referred only to the spherical shot or musket balls dispersed when a shrapnel shell bursts, and this is still the strict technical definition of the term. However, "shrapnel" is now commonly used to describe all types of high-velocity fragments thrown out from an explosion, and does not differentiate among the processes which create them.

Damn and blast. You got to Wikepedia before me, Fletchy.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

Fletchy you are spot on, amazing what the web can tell you. But just to add to that, his experiments were tested at Shoeburyness, Essex, which was from about 1640 ish used for the testing of weapons, explosives and many sorts of ordnance etc. The first test there was on a musket. The range is still in service with the MoD to this day. I should know I did 24 years there.
There was a very good painting of Major-General Shrapnel over the main fire place in our officers mess, he was quite a looker Maggie

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Ive seen it all now, well most of it anyway!